The most ambitious construction projects in Latvia have been judged and the outstanding works of architecture named in the “Latvian Construction Award of the Year 2024” competition. The new Rietumvidzeme regional customer centre in Valmiermuiža, built by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), received the highest accolade – the “Grand Prix”.

Construction of the LVM Rietumvidzeme regional customer centre began in 2023 and was completed at the end of 2024. More than 400 m³ of timber materials were used in its construction, including planed boards, glue-laminated structures and plywood. Producing that quantity of material requires roughly 1200 m³ of timber. In Latvia, that volume of timber grows in about 25 minutes on average, absorbing around 1200 tonnes of carbon dioxide as it grows.

Vilmārs Katkovskis, Head of Forest Management Planning for the LVM Rietumvidzeme region, says:

“Construction trends across the world and in Europe confirm that timber, as a renewable and natural raw material, is increasingly valued as an effective tool in the fight against climate change. LVM convincingly demonstrates how buildings should be built today and how sustainably grown forest should be used. Both during the construction of the customer centre and now, we are seeing great interest from educational institutions and other organisations wishing to get to know the new LVM building and to appreciate the advantages of timber as a material. We hope the customer centre will become a place to find inspiration for the further development of timber construction in Latvia.”

https://www.lvm.lv/jaunumi/7530-lvm-klientu-centrs-sanem-buvniecibas-grand-prix