Wels, 23rd August 2017 – Following the phased opening in May of this year the moment has finally arrived: The INTERSPAR shopping center with a restaurant, eight shop partners, and Austria’s most modern gastronomic training facility has been opened. Lead Project Manager Philipp Pfister and his team celebrated the opening with numerous representatives from politics and business.
The new construction and partial remodeling of the 30-year-old INTERSPAR market lasted 16 months. “Over 20 million euros were invested in the project as a whole in order to meet the needs of all our clients - from their basic requirements to their luxury wishes - and to offer them a new service center,” explained Mag. Markus Kaser, CEO of INTERSPAR Österreich.
The refurbishment took place in two phases with operations continuing throughout and the market not having to close for a single day. “The integrated refurbishment of existing retail space without interrupting normal operations is one of our specialist areas” reports the architect Robert Kelca, an ATP Partner in Innsbruck. “This is a subject which has become increasingly important during our many years of successful cooperation with INTERSPAR.”
The new shopping center enjoys an elegantly contemporary appearance: a sweeping timber roof “floats” above the 200 meters of the glazed façade with the help of two intersecting canopies. The metal zone behind the glazing has been lent additionally prominence by the incorporation of purple LED lighting into its underside by Bartenbach Lighting Design. The implementation of the imposing structure and the building services infrastructure for the refurbishment of the existing building was carried out by ATP with the help of BIM (Building Information Modeling).
The new shopping center includes the INTERSPAR hypermarket, a restaurant, and eight shop partners as well as an INTERSPAR catering college.