Shopping Without Borders
SES shopping center ATRIO is located in Villach, in the south of the state of Carinthia, only a few kilometers from the Slovenian and Italian borders, in the heart of the Carinthia-Austria / Slovenia / Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The shopping destination with the cross-country appeal attracts many visitors from the neighboring countries. The center’s motto “senza confini”, which translates as “without borders” is consistently displayed at all points of contact, including its name, its architecture, its color schemes, its marketing, and its trilingual center operation. In 2008, ATRIO won the International Design and Development Award and was celebrated as the world’s most innovative shopping center. In 2009, ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) honored the center with the “Best-of-the-Best for Sustainable Design Award” as the world’s most sustainable shopping center. ATRIO Villach is a pioneer in its industry in ecological terms. It was built on thermally activated in-situ concrete piles that extend up to 70 meters into the ground and are used as energy piles to heat and cool the shopping center, achieving high CO2 savings and covering almost half of the required energy generation.
