Viega Schweiz AG
A tinkerer working for nature
Michael Kriegel is a software architect who spends his spare time trying to protect the Earth for future generations. Who says computer geeks spend all their time indoors?
The cafeteria in the brand-new Viega Schweiz AG building is bustling with activity at 10 a.m. – furniture is being moved around next to employees enjoying a cup of coffee, protective sheeting is still all over the place and it really feels like the future has arrived. Some employees are having their break – break times are arranged so that no department is unstaffed and Viega Schweiz AG employees have the opportunity to socialise with colleagues from different business units.
Exposed concrete and sandals
This is something the company sees as very important, and is one of the measures that contributes to creating an inspiring atmosphere. In the new building, for example, there is a dark blue library with a fireplace, which could just as well be found in a boutique hotel. The building is very modern, with lots of exposed concrete, lots of light, lots of space. The silhouette of the Graubünden Alps is currently being laminated onto the glass panes of the offices.
“I was specifically looking for a job in Graubünden”
Michael Kriegel also loves the new building, “especially, of course, because it was built in compliance with the Minergie-P standard,” he says. Environmental protection and sustainability are big issues in the 30-year-old’s life. He wears Birkenstock sandals with socks, like everyone else here who handles electronics (“They protect against static electricity”), and has a Sherlock Holmes–like inclination for analysis.
No room for mental laziness.
No answer is rash, no opinion is not based on empirical evidence, no counterargument remains unanswered. Even when he explains why environmental protection is close to his heart, the stories he tells are not of dying polar bears, but of facts, projections and pragmatic considerations – not due to a lack of emotion, but as a consequence of his very thorough, precise way of thinking. This might be job conditioning, or perhaps just the fact that Michael has found a profession that suits him perfectly – as a software architect, he is responsible for making sure the individual parts of a software program work together perfectly. There is no room for mental laziness.
“I grew up in the former German Democratic Republic, right after the fall of the Berlin Wall. There was no explicit awareness of environmental protection, but there was no material excess either – we had to make do with what we had. My passion for protecting the environment was born of a desire to preserve the Earth for this and future generations,” Michael explains.
“Grateful to be here”
Michael is a part-time environmentalist and a full-time tech nerd, as evidenced by the solar panels on his balcony (which he used to run his refrigerator for a whole summer and to play films for friends), his customised e-trike for trips into the mountains and transporting heavy loads, and the wooden glasses he made for himself.
Simply put: he loves nature very much. “I was specifically looking for a job in Graubünden”, says Michael, who has been fascinated by the mountains since childhood. Michael loves the great outdoors and has been fascinated by the mountains since childhood. “I was specifically looking for a job in Graubünden,” he says. He has been living in Switzerland for eight years now and is grateful for every one of them. Michael spends as much time outdoors as he can, hiking or biking along challenging trails.
Matter of honour: Volunteering
He dedicates a lot of his free time to environmental protection, supporting WWF projects or helping Films for the Earth, an initiative that organises festivals on the subject of sustainability in over 20 cities every year. When we ask him exactly what he does there, he laughs: “I’m the technical guy. It’s the same with any organisation – if you let slip that you’re a computer scientist, someone will immediately come along and say: ‘Oh great, can you check out this problem we’re having with our computers?’ Obviously I’m always happy to help, but sometimes it would be nice to have a break from the day job!” That is also one of the reasons why he would be happy to see more engineers come to Graubünden soon, he says with a smile.
I was specifically looking for a job in Graubünden.
Michael Kriegel
Michael Kriegel is pleased with the new building too, “especially, of course, because it was built to the Minergie-Plus standard,” he says. Environmental protection and sustainability play a major role in the 30-year-old’s life. Like everyone here who works with electronics, he wears Birkenstock sandals with socks (“they protect against static build-up”) and has a Sherlock Holmes-like instinct for analysis.
No room for lazy thinking
Every answer is carefully considered, every opinion grounded in empirical evidence, every counterargument addressed. Even when explaining why the environment matters to him, he offers facts, projections and practical reasoning rather than stories of dying polar bears. This reflects a meticulous, precise way of thinking, rather than any lack of feeling.
Perhaps it is an occupational habit. Or perhaps he has found a profession that suits him perfectly: Michael is a software architect, responsible for ensuring that the individual components of software work together seamlessly. There is no room for lazy thinking.
“I grew up in the former East Germany just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. There wasn’t much explicit environmental awareness, but there wasn’t an abundance of material goods either. We always had to make do with what was available. Ultimately, though, my commitment grew out of wanting to preserve the Earth as a place for us and future generations to live,” he says, trying to trace its origins. From the solar installation on his balcony, which powered his fridge for a summer and film screenings for friends, to the electric trike he converted himself and uses both for mountain pass rides and carrying heavy loads, to his handmade wooden glasses, Michael puts his inventive talents to work for the environment.
Ultimately, he simply loves nature. “I specifically looked for a job in Graubünden,” says Michael, who has been fascinated by mountains since childhood. He has now lived in Switzerland for eight years and is “grateful to be here”. He spends every spare minute outdoors, hiking or tackling demanding cycling routes.
Volunteering comes naturally
He also devotes his free time to the wider cause, taking part in WWF conservation projects and volunteering with “Filme für die Erde”, an association that organises annual sustainability film festivals in more than 20 cities. What exactly does he do there? He laughs. “I look after the technology, of course. Whatever the organisation, as soon as you say you work in IT, someone immediately says: ‘Oh, brilliant, we’ve got a problem with our computers.’ And I already do that all day!”
That, he adds with a grin, is another reason he would welcome more engineers moving to Graubünden soon.
