On 24 January, AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) opened its Rietumvidzeme regional client centre at Valmiermuiža, a building that makes extensive use of timber as a sustainable and renewable material. The opening ceremony was attended by Ģirts Krūmiņš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Jānis Baiks, Chairman of Valmiera Municipality Council, as well as representatives of the LVM supervisory board and management board, company employees and representatives of SIA “Selva Būve”.
Addressing those present, Vilmārs Katkovskis, Head of Forest Management Planning for the LVM Rietumvidzeme region, said:
“As a country rich in forests, Latvia has a unique opportunity to make broad use of this local renewable resource, including in construction. In opening this building, we are demonstrating clearly how buildings should be built today and how sustainably grown forest should be used. The doors of the new regional client centre will always be open to students, businesses and anyone else with an interest, offering the chance to get to know, discover and appreciate the advantages of Vidzeme’s largest timber building.”
Ģirts Krūmiņš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed during the event:
“Timber is unmistakably enjoying a renaissance today – you can make practically anything from it! This new building is a striking example of Latvian timber construction, one for everyone else to learn from and be inspired by, because building in wood is our future.”
The client centre in the LVM Rietumvidzeme region is the third building to be delivered under the standard LVM client centre design, differing from the earlier ones in its site landscaping and the colour scheme of the building. What unites all three, however, is the extensive use of timber in load-bearing structures, partition framing and finishing materials, both indoors and outdoors.
Zane Driņķe, Chair of the LVM supervisory board, notes:
“Timber as the principal construction material in LVM client centres reflects the company’s sustainability strategy as a foundation of stability and long-term thinking. Timber is the only widely available material that is renewable, and this fact plays an important role in the strategy for reducing consumption of non-renewable resources. Climate-smart, science-based forest management is also a tool in the fight against climate change. The selectively bred seedlings used in forest regeneration and sustainably managed forests ensure high-quality, productive stands. It is precisely such stands that absorb more CO₂ as they grow and later provide high-quality raw materials which, once used in timber buildings, store that CO₂ within them.”
Construction of the LVM Rietumvidzeme regional client 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, glued laminated structures and plywood. Producing that quantity of material requires roughly 1200 m³ of timber. On average, Latvia grows this much timber in about 25 minutes, absorbing around 1200 tonnes of carbon dioxide as it grows.
Modern energy efficiency solutions have been introduced at the LVM Rietumvidzeme regional client centre: 50 kW of solar panels have been installed on the building’s roof, which on sunny days will generate electricity for the building’s own consumption and feed the surplus into the shared grid. The building’s heating is likewise provided from renewable energy sources, such as wood pellets. In winter the building will be heated by a pellet boiler, and in spring and autumn by a heat pump.