Commercial real estate is changing fast. Rising energy costs, stricter carbon expectations, and growing pressure to deliver better everyday experiences are challenging buildings to do more than simply operate. They need to perform, adapt, and stay relevant for the people who use them. Sello shopping center in Finland shows what that future can look like. More than a mall, it is a living part of the community - welcoming around 24 million visitors a year, bringing together more than 170 shops, and using digital transformation to improve comfort, cut emissions, reduce costs, and even help stabilize Finland’s power grid.
Sello Shopping Center: Pioneer in smart retail
A blueprint for the future. Sello shows what a shopping mall can become when digital technology meets everyday life: a place people want to be, that pays for itself, and that helps stabilize Finland's power grid.
From shopping center to intelligent community hub
What Sello gets right
40%
40% Energy consumption reduction
since 2010
549 K
549 K EUR annual savings from total solution
640
640 MWh annual produced from own roof PV
4,157
4,157 tons CO2 emission reduction
More than a mall: a city center for everyone
Beyond its function as a shopping mall, Sello is home to a concert hall, a library, a hotel, entertainment attractions, and a residential block. It's a place where people don't just shop, they meet, relax, read, make music, and spend their day, making Sello a true community hub.
Comfort engineered into every visit
Lighting, HVAC, and air quality all adjust automatically, based on how many people are in the building and what the weather's doing outside. One highlight: sensors, weather data, and infrared cameras detect icy conditions outside the mall and trigger automatic snow melting, keeping visitors safe on their way in and out.
From Day 1 to over 20 years of continuous innovation
For over 20 years, Siemens has driven ongoing innovation at Sello, from building automation to HVAC, safety, and digital services, delivered on-site and remotely. Two LEED EB certifications and two industry awards later, Sello has operated with net-zero carbon emissions since 2019.
We work together with Siemens to make a perfect place for our customers to shop, spend time, go to the movies, go to a restaurant and having dinner.
Connecting data and technology into one smart solution
At Sello, Siemens brings together thousands of building data points, from occupancy and weather to energy demand and grid conditions, in one connected, intelligent system. Delivered through Siemens Xcelerator and monitored via Navigator, the solution integrates building automation and control, energy management, safety and security, and cloud-based platforms with AI-enabled services.
By connecting these technologies through an open and interoperable ecosystem, Siemens helps Sello move from fragmented operations to smarter, more scalable building management. The result is a building that uses data to improve efficiency, support better decisions, and create measurable asset value. This was recently underlined by Aalto University, which awarded Sello a Smart Readiness Indicator of 92 percent.