Tropical Greenhouse Wolhusen

Harnessing industrial waste heat

Visit project page (in German)

Wolhusen, Switzerland

1997 - 2012

Client

Tropenhaus Wolhusen

Beneficiaries

Residents in Switzerland

Key Partner

Coop

The project’s starting point was the questions of how industrial waste heat can lead to sustainable regional value creation. The Greenhouse Wolhusen demonstrates that the “by-product waste heat” can be used profitably to produce sustainable tropical products in Switzerland. Starting with a pilot project in Ruswil in 1999 and cooperating with regional and national partners, seecon developed a unique system that connects plant and fish production based on intelligent water and nutrient cycles.

In 2010 the tropical greenhouse Wolhusen opened its doors: Here, tropical fruits and spices that find a ready market are produced on a production area of 5300 square meters. A fish farm delivers the tropical tilapia to selected Coop branches and, at the same time, supplies the plants of the tropical greenhouse with the necessary nutrients.

At 2100 square metres, visitors can experience over 100 crops and learn more about the cultivation and breeding of tropical products in particular topic areas. In the adjacent restaurant, visitors can taste homemade specialities in the shade of banana trees. This unique offer provides interesting synergies with other regional projects (e.g. bad weather offers for the biosphere) and offers high economic benefits for the region.

seecon was involved in the project development and implementation from the very beginning. In specific, we carried out the following activities:

Co-create and design

We developed the concept together with partners and ensured the project management and coordination of the various players. In addition, we helped to set up the business model.