Tiny wooden houses but also secluded refuges, cabins are used in Scandinavian countries to retreat in nature with as little as a layer of glass to separate living space from the natural habitat. The rise of proximity discovery, as well as the quest for minimalistic luxury and the craving to reconnect to nature, have all contributed to making this archetype appealing to many. Heima reinterprets cabin living, by overseeing the development and management of eco-resorts built in pristine locations and composed of isolated cabins immersed in the wilderness. Heima’s development offers all the comfort expected in the luxury hospitality segment with a unique twist: no effort to “shield” the guests from the natural elements, from rain and mud to connecting with local fauna. The final aim is to bridge the gap between outdoor living and urbanism with a disruptive approach to sustainability and wellness.
Heima is a startup born and raised in the incubator of the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne, thanks to the relentless creative efforts of its young, yet experienced team composed of Mark Tosi and Marco Antonio Caporale on the hospitality side; and Kengo Kuma’s architect Paolo Danesi. At its core, Heima combined the native Italian founders' flair for design and craftmanship, combined with its sharp precision, detail-oriented Swiss identity. The founders are determined to disrupt the industry with a bold vision: to make outdoor journeys accessible for luxury travelers while facilitating their inner journeys.
Nonetheless, do not be misguided by the essential looks of Heima’s buildings and its genuine values: over 30% of the company’s resources are committed to R&D (mostly clean tech based) allowing the company to secure a unique positioning in the market of sustainable offers.
Heima’s offer is for landowners, companies, public stakeholders, or simply investors, entrusted with a pristine location and/or heritage, facing the tradeoff between conservation and development. Aiming to develop projects in pristine locations, sustainability at Heima is not an add-on but the cornerstone of its offer. Heima strives to shift hospitality’s mainstream view on the topic, from limiting impact and recovery to fostering positive change through action. Each one of Heima’s touristic venues is thought of as a unique living ecosystem, blurring the boundaries between the resort, surroundings, and local communities. A concreteless light footprint approach of Heima’s buildings ensures the respect of existing nature and landscape. Heima’s resorts can last a century but can be removed in a few weeks’ time, complying with a strict 0 trace policy. While the modular tailormade policy mixes off-grid options with cutting-edge clean technologies to enrich the offer and allow to cater to the most remote locations.
Heima also solves another pain for our customers: many development opportunities are dropped for the sole complexity of dealing with the multiple stakeholders involved which is one of the main obstacle smaller projects face. The survey of the whole value chain, from feasibility studies and technical services to preopening services and ongoing management, allows streamlined processes and a unique degree of consistency at every step.
Heima today truly is a platform for slow travel and serviced outdoor living to look at, in line with today’s industry trends and allowing guests to tap into a feeling of oneness with the surrounding landscape that traditional “fenced resorts” lack. Heima is currently rolling out his first projects in Italy and Switzerland and is an unmatchable opportunity to keep in mind for nature-based, “impact-centered” developments with management services.