Edith Maryon Foundation

The Edith Maryon Foundation is a Swiss nonprofit foundation established in Basel in 1990 to remove land and real estate from speculative ownership and preserve them for socially useful, innovative, and sustainable purposes. Rather than operating as a conventional property developer or commercial landlord, the foundation acquires or holds sites and makes them available to mission-aligned third parties, including housing cooperatives, cultural organizations, schools, social enterprises, farms, and community initiatives. Its work is concentrated principally in Switzerland and Germany. The foundation is named after Edith Maryon, the English sculptor and close collaborator of Rudolf Steiner. Maryon was associated with social and community-oriented housing initiatives for people working at the Goetheanum, and her name gives the organization a historical and ethical reference point. The foundation’s model reflects a broader effort to treat land as a long-term social resource rather than solely as a financial asset. In many projects, ownership structures, leases, cooperative arrangements, and community governance are designed to protect the social purpose of a site over time. Founded with initial capital of 12,000 Swiss francs by Christoph Langscheid, John Ermel, and Michael Riggenbach, the foundation developed into an early example of mission-driven or impact-oriented real-estate ownership. Its portfolio has expanded over more than three decades to include 166 projects, with some assets held through subsidiaries. Examples include cultural and hospitality venues, schools, farms, collective housing projects, former industrial sites, and spaces for artistic production. Swiss projects include Unternehmen Mitte, Hotel Krafft, Markthalle Basel, Kloster Schönthal, Rudolf Steiner schools, Alte Feuerwehr Viktoria in Bern, Neuestheater.ch, Bain da Chauenas farm, and Sunnehügel – House of Hospitality. German projects include ExRotaprint, the former Delphi cinema, the One-World Center, Schokoladen, Halle Tanzbühne Berlin, Landwerk Neuendorf, KlausHaus, the VOLLGUT project at the former Kindl site, Landgut Pretschen, and Tuntenhaus. The foundation also operates housing-access programs. Since 2003, its Housing Assistance program has used a solidarity fund to provide rental-deposit guarantees. According to the foundation’s reported figures, more than 13,000 households in north-western Switzerland have obtained rental contracts through the mechanism, with approximately 1,000 new guarantees issued annually. Additional instruments include a hardship fund operated with the Christoph Merian Foundation and a cooperative-share fund managed with the Canton of Basel-Stadt on behalf of the Basel Housing Foundation. By December 2024, the foundation reported total assets of 343 million Swiss francs. Its growth has been financed primarily through donations, legacies, and interest-free loans from private individuals rather than conventional shareholder capital. In addition to property stewardship, it has become an active grant-making organization in art and culture. Governance is provided by a five-member Foundation Council, supported by a 19-person advisory board, while day-to-day administration is conducted by the Basel office, which employed 19 people as of 2025.

The Edith Maryon Foundation was established in Basel in 1990 by Christoph Langscheid, John Ermel, and Michael Riggenbach with initial capital of 12,000 Swiss francs. Its founding purpose was to place land and buildings beyond purely speculative treatment and to secure their use for social housing, workplaces, culture, education, and other community-oriented activities. The organization was named after Edith Maryon, an English sculptor and associate of Rudolf Steiner who was involved in social housing initiatives connected with the Goetheanum. From its early years, the foundation developed a model based on long-term ownership rather than short-term property turnover. It could acquire or retain real estate while granting access to groups and organizations whose projects served a social, cultural, ecological, or innovative purpose. This structure enabled initiatives to use valuable urban and rural sites without being forced to maximize commercial returns or sell the underlying land. The approach has been associated with impact investing in real estate and with efforts to treat land as a common or socially protected resource. The foundation gradually expanded its holdings in Switzerland and Germany. Its projects came to include cooperative and collective housing, cultural centers, schools, farms, hospitality venues, arts facilities, and the adaptive reuse of former industrial or commercial buildings. Notable examples include Unternehmen Mitte, Hotel Krafft, Markthalle Basel, Kloster Schönthal, Rudolf Steiner schools, Alte Feuerwehr Viktoria, and Sunnehügel in Switzerland. In Germany, projects have included ExRotaprint, the former Delphi cinema, Schokoladen, Halle Tanzbühne Berlin, Landwerk Neuendorf, KlausHaus, the VOLLGUT project at the former Kindl site, Landgut Pretschen, and Tuntenhaus. A significant extension of the foundation’s work began in 2003 with Housing Assistance, a solidarity-based program providing rental-deposit guarantees. The program was intended to help households that could afford rent but could not easily provide the required deposit. The foundation later developed or participated in additional housing-access mechanisms, including a hardship fund with the Christoph Merian Foundation and a cooperative-share fund operated with the Canton of Basel-Stadt on behalf of the Basel Housing Foundation. Over more than a generation, the foundation expanded from a small Basel initiative into a substantial nonprofit property steward. Its portfolio reached 166 projects, with some properties held through subsidiaries. The organization’s funding model relied on donations, legacies, and interest-free loans from private individuals, allowing it to grow without the normal demands of commercial real-estate investors. By December 2024, reported total assets were 343 million Swiss francs. The foundation also developed a grant-making role in art and culture, complementing its property activities. Its Basel headquarters is located at Unternehmen Mitte, one of its own associated projects. Governance is vested in a five-member Foundation Council, with advice from a 19-member advisory board. The Basel office handled daily operations with 19 employees as of 2025. The foundation’s continuing work places it within a wider European movement concerned with community ownership, cooperative housing, land trusts, and the long-term protection of socially valuable spaces.

• 2025

  Basel office reported 19 employees

  [1]Edith Maryon Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation’s operational office in Basel was reported to employ 19 people, alongside its Foundation Council and advisory board.

• 2024

  Reported assets reached CHF 343 million

  [1]Edith Maryon Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  At December 2024, the foundation reported total assets of CHF 343 million and a portfolio of 166 projects.

• 2003

  Housing Assistance program launched

  [1]Edith Maryon Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation began providing rental-deposit guarantees through a solidarity fund to improve access to rental housing.

• 1990

  Foundation established in Basel

  [1]Edith Maryon Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Christoph Langscheid, John Ermel, and Michael Riggenbach established the Edith Maryon Foundation with initial capital of CHF 12,000.

A mission-driven land foundation focused on decommodifying property, protecting community uses, and enabling long-term social, cultural, ecological, and cooperative projects.

• Housing access program · 2003

  Housing Assistance

  A solidarity-fund program introduced in 2003 that provides rental-deposit guarantees for households in north-western Switzerland. By helping applicants meet landlords’ deposit requirements, it enables people to obtain rental contracts without having to raise the full deposit in advance. The foundation reports that more than 13,000 households have benefited and that approximately 1,000 new guarantees are issued each year.

• Social real-estate ownership · 1990

  Mission-oriented real-estate stewardship

  The foundation acquires, holds, or otherwise secures land and buildings for long-term social, cultural, ecological, educational, and community use. It makes properties available to external organizations and projects, often using arrangements intended to preserve affordability and mission over time rather than maximize resale value.

• Community housing

  Cooperative and collective housing partnerships

  The foundation supports housing projects based on cooperative, collective, and cohousing principles. Its role can include holding the underlying property and partnering with resident groups or other mission-aligned organizations, thereby helping protect housing from speculative redevelopment and supporting long-term community control.

• Cultural philanthropy

  Arts and culture support

  In addition to property stewardship, the foundation acts as a grant-making body in art and culture. Its real-estate portfolio also provides premises for cinemas, theaters, dance companies, cultural centers, galleries, and other artistic or civic initiatives.

• 2003Housing Assistance

  North-western Switzerland

  A solidarity-based rental-deposit guarantee initiative designed to help households access rental housing when they cannot provide the full deposit required by a landlord.

  Outcome. The foundation reports that more than 13,000 households have obtained rental contracts through the program, with around 1,000 new guarantees issued annually.

  Source

• 2003

  Introduced rental-deposit guaranteesStrategy

  Background

  Many households could meet monthly rent obligations but faced difficulty providing the deposit needed to sign a lease.

  Action taken

  The foundation created Housing Assistance, backed by a solidarity fund, to issue rental-deposit guarantees.

  Aftermath

  The program became a continuing housing-access service in north-western Switzerland and has supported more than 13,000 households according to reported figures.

  Source

• 1990

  Adopted a non-speculative land-holding modelStrategy

  Background

  The foundation was created in response to concerns that land and real estate were being treated primarily as speculative financial assets.

  Action taken

  It established a nonprofit ownership and partnership model intended to keep properties in long-term social, cultural, ecological, and community use.

  Aftermath

  The model developed into a portfolio of 166 projects across Switzerland and Germany and made the foundation a recognized participant in mission-driven real-estate and land-trust practices.

  Source

1. 1Edith Maryon Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Edith Maryon Foundation official websitemaryon.ch