Ordinarily, solar panels make the most sense on the roof of a building. This is often where you can harvest the most solar energy. But sometimes it can make sense to install them vertically, like in the case of the above building in Scuol, Switzerland. I am by no means an expert on solar, but I am told that this can make sense in snowy climates (where rooftop panels are likely to get covered) and in northern locations where the lower angle of the sun means a vertical position actually catches the sun more effectively (especially during the winter months). It could also be the case that you just don't have any available roof space. Either way, you have to look at and model out the entire year when it comes to solar.
I was speaking with our lawyer in Park City this week, and he commented to me that he wouldn't be going into the office next week because Old Town would be too hectic with the Sundance Film Festival going on. His office is right on Main Street.
When small mountain towns host major international events, there are going to be spillover effects. This is true of Sundance in Park City (population ~8,500) and it is true of the World Economic Forum, which was hosted in Davos (population ~10,000) this past week.
Perhaps the most obvious impact is that people can rent out their homes for large sums of money. And so lots of people both do that and try to profit maximize while doing it. Here are some anecdotes from Davos (via NZZ):
Ten days before the WEF, there are still 25 listings on the Airbnb internet platform. The prices here range from 8,000 to 56,000 Swiss francs. The son of an apartment owner says that his family receives 12,000 francs a week for their three-room apartment, which is quite close to the convention center. However, he says he assumes that they could achieve significantly more. The family rents out the apartment through an intermediary.
Another interesting impact in Davos happens on the retail side (also via NZZ):
According to expert Robert Weinert, the average rent per square meter of retail space in Davos is 248 Swiss francs. A businessperson renting a storefront of 80 square meters must therefore pay almost 20,000 francs in rent per year. However, if that business vacates the store during the WEF, it can earn 60,000 francs – three times the annual rent for the facilities.
What this means is that some retail spaces remain vacant all year, just so that they can be available for when the WEF arrives and people need temporary commercial spaces. And why wouldn't this be the case: 20,000 francs for the year or 60,000 francs for a week. If I'm the landlord, I'll take the additional 40,000 francs and not think about the property for the rest of the year.
Of course, if you're trying to create a vibrant community with things, like, occupied retail spaces, then this isn't ideal.
Ordinarily, solar panels make the most sense on the roof of a building. This is often where you can harvest the most solar energy. But sometimes it can make sense to install them vertically, like in the case of the above building in Scuol, Switzerland. I am by no means an expert on solar, but I am told that this can make sense in snowy climates (where rooftop panels are likely to get covered) and in northern locations where the lower angle of the sun means a vertical position actually catches the sun more effectively (especially during the winter months). It could also be the case that you just don't have any available roof space. Either way, you have to look at and model out the entire year when it comes to solar.
I was speaking with our lawyer in Park City this week, and he commented to me that he wouldn't be going into the office next week because Old Town would be too hectic with the Sundance Film Festival going on. His office is right on Main Street.
When small mountain towns host major international events, there are going to be spillover effects. This is true of Sundance in Park City (population ~8,500) and it is true of the World Economic Forum, which was hosted in Davos (population ~10,000) this past week.
Perhaps the most obvious impact is that people can rent out their homes for large sums of money. And so lots of people both do that and try to profit maximize while doing it. Here are some anecdotes from Davos (via NZZ):
Ten days before the WEF, there are still 25 listings on the Airbnb internet platform. The prices here range from 8,000 to 56,000 Swiss francs. The son of an apartment owner says that his family receives 12,000 francs a week for their three-room apartment, which is quite close to the convention center. However, he says he assumes that they could achieve significantly more. The family rents out the apartment through an intermediary.
Another interesting impact in Davos happens on the retail side (also via NZZ):
According to expert Robert Weinert, the average rent per square meter of retail space in Davos is 248 Swiss francs. A businessperson renting a storefront of 80 square meters must therefore pay almost 20,000 francs in rent per year. However, if that business vacates the store during the WEF, it can earn 60,000 francs – three times the annual rent for the facilities.
What this means is that some retail spaces remain vacant all year, just so that they can be available for when the WEF arrives and people need temporary commercial spaces. And why wouldn't this be the case: 20,000 francs for the year or 60,000 francs for a week. If I'm the landlord, I'll take the additional 40,000 francs and not think about the property for the rest of the year.
Of course, if you're trying to create a vibrant community with things, like, occupied retail spaces, then this isn't ideal.
Portable toilets are needed on every construction site, and in lots of other places too. Generally speaking, though, they are not pleasant spaces. But that doesn't seem to be the case in Switzerland. I just discovered a Swiss company called Kompotoi. They make high-quality portable toilets out of spruce, and they have made a commitment to composting as much human waste as possible.
But the really unique feature that I had never seen before is that each toilet comes equipped with a bin of wood shavings ("litter"), which you are supposed to sprinkle over your poop once you're done. This serves two important functions. One, it dries out the waste which greatly reduces any smells. I can attest that the toilet I used smelt just fine. And two, doesn't it just look better to go into a toilet and see wood shavings as opposed to poop?
This might be an instance of "yeah, only in Switzerland." The retail price for their classic toilet model is CHF 5,966. That works out to about C$9,500 once you covert it to our painfully weak dollar.
Portable toilets are needed on every construction site, and in lots of other places too. Generally speaking, though, they are not pleasant spaces. But that doesn't seem to be the case in Switzerland. I just discovered a Swiss company called Kompotoi. They make high-quality portable toilets out of spruce, and they have made a commitment to composting as much human waste as possible.
But the really unique feature that I had never seen before is that each toilet comes equipped with a bin of wood shavings ("litter"), which you are supposed to sprinkle over your poop once you're done. This serves two important functions. One, it dries out the waste which greatly reduces any smells. I can attest that the toilet I used smelt just fine. And two, doesn't it just look better to go into a toilet and see wood shavings as opposed to poop?
This might be an instance of "yeah, only in Switzerland." The retail price for their classic toilet model is CHF 5,966. That works out to about C$9,500 once you covert it to our painfully weak dollar.
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