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LVM Mežvidi Nursery Buildings Rank First in the Nomination “Wooden Structure

The most outstanding architectural facilities and engineering structures have been selected in the most ambitious construction competition in Latvia – the Latvian Construction Award 2023, organized by the “Building Design and Construction Council” association. JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) Mežvidi Nursery seedling sorting and processing complex in Madona Municipality ranked first in the nomination “Wood Structure”, while the “Ķekava bypass” project received the Grand Prix; LVM had also taken part in this project.

Use of wood in the production facility

The seedling sorting and processing complex of Mežvidi Nursery was put into operation at the end of last year. The 8 000 square metre area of the new complex includes production facilities, seedling freezers and nursery administrative premises; a 500 square metre inventory and equipment storage warehouse was also built, engineering networks were built, and the territory was improved on an area of 2.8 hectares.

Uģis Perševics, Construction Manager at LVM Real Estate Administration, talks about the innovative solutions used in the seedling sorting and processing complex of the Mežvidi Nursery and the advantages of using wood in the construction of industrial buildings: “The use of wood in construction is a responsible and sustainable choice towards the climate. Thanks to the availability of raw materials in Latvia and the relatively simple assembly work, wood is also a suitable material for the construction of production and warehouse facilities, which is confirmed by the new complex of the Mežvidi Nursery, which was put into operation at the end of last year. Sustainable solutions have been implemented in the construction works of the new complex of the Mežvidi Nursery: wood is used both in the decoration and in the load-bearing structures. The total volume of wood used in the nursery complex reaches about 600 cubic metres, the longest built continuous wooden beams reach a length of 30 metres. Environmentally friendly building management solutions were also used in the construction, such as solar panels built on the roof for electricity production and solar collectors for hot water heating, while a pellet boiler was installed for heating. Rainwater will also be collected from the roof of the building, which will be used to water the seedlings in the nursery.”

The use of LVM Zemes dzīles mineral materials in construction works

This year, 145 applications were submitted for the Latvian Construction Award competition; the winners of the first three places were selected in 10 nominations, while the Grand Prix was awarded to three facilities, including the first public-private partnership facility – the Ķekava bypass. LVM Zemes dzīles is one of the most important suppliers of resources for the implementation of the project. In addition, 11.9 hectares of state forest land were handed over to the Ministry of Transport for this purpose.

 Karīna Āboliņa-Zalpētere, Sales Executive Director of LVM Zemes dzīles: “For the needs of the Ķekava bypass road, mineral materials have been obtained from several mining sites of LVM Zemes dzīles: “Riekstu mežs”, “Ezeri-2” and “Gediņi-Zvirgzdes mežniecība”, providing 726 thousand cubic metres of mineral materials. At the end of the mining process of mineral materials, one mining site was completely recultivated, the second mining site is close to the end of recultivation, while in the third mining site, from which the mineral materials were extracted, recultivation works have been carried out on approximately 50 % of the territory. LVM Zemes dzīles ensures responsible and sustainable management of natural resources throughout the land management cycle – from surveying to the end of the life cycle of each mining site, when the mining site is recultivated, preparing it for the next purpose of management, most often, the planting of a new forest.

The Latvian Construction Award 2023 is the most ambitious building competition in Latvia, which highlights both excellent architectural facilities and engineering structures, as well as facility implementation teams.

LVM Customer Centres and buildings have previously received awards in the Latvian Construction Award competition: LVM Zemgale Region Customer Centre building in Jelgava ranked second last year in the nominations “Most Sustainable Public Building 2023 in the Baltics” and “Wooden Building 2021”, while the LVM North Kurzeme Customer Centre in Dundaga received the award of the “Best Building in Latvia 2016”. The buildings are distinguished by the use of environmentally friendly and innovative solutions.