The Most Sustainable Projects in Latvia

As a visiting fellow through the Council on International Educational Exchange, one of my roles at USGBC is to help expand upon GBIG’s representation of international green building activity – especially within Eastern Europe. For that reason, I am excited by the recent inclusion of a new program highlighting many of the most sustainable green buildings in my home country of Latvia.

The competition catalog showcases 16 green building activities in 6 cities in Latvia – 9 of which are located in my hometown of Riga! – that have participated in the competition “Most Sustainable Building and Project In Latvia 2013”. The competition received 29 applications overall from Latvian architects, developers and students. GBIG now includes a collection listing all 16 buildings including nominees as well as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in categories of “Most Sustainable Building” and “Most Sustainable Project.”

The competitions are planned on a yearly basis in order to identify the best sustainable practices in terms of usage of local resources, building design and urban planning and to share the experiences of architects, engineers and construction specialists globally. These projects were evaluated for 9 criteria: choice of location and positioning, energy efficiency, efficient use of water resources, building materials, waste reduction during construction and operation, transport and mobility, the quality of indoor environment, social and economic benefits, and innovative solutions.

To learn more about green buildings in Latvia, visit the Latvian Sustainable Building Council’s website.