Elemental Skanste plans to become the first building in Latvia with BREEAM Outstanding rating

The Elemental Skanste office building project, which is under construction in Skanste district, has undergone several changes and analysis during the redesign process, with the ultimate goal of achieving BREEAM Outstanding certification at the end of construction. It will thus become the first building in Latvia to be certified to such a high standard.

The Elemental Skanste office building project, for the construction of which Kapitel and Merks are responsible, has been awarded the Excellent level in the BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) building assessment system. Only six new projects in Latvia have ever achieved such a high rating.

Elemental Skanste is a next-generation office building in Riga, using state-of-the-art technological solutions and innovative energy-efficient ideas. The building is constructed using environmentally friendly energy piles, which enable residents of the building to make full use of naturally renewable energy resources during the heating and cooling seasons. The energy pumps will provide up to 72% of the building’s heat needs, while the remaining heat will have to be purchased additionally. This will significantly reduce heating season costs.

“With this project, we not only want Elemental Skanste to be environmentally and people-friendly. We also want to be at the forefront of innovation, because in the end, our tenants and the people of Skanste will be our main judges. Our goal is to achieve BREEAM Outstanding rating, which we plan to reach by setting a new standard in the construction industry in Latvia,” says Imants Krēsliņš, Sales Manager of Elemental Skanste.

Andris Bišmeistars, Member of the Board and Construction Director of Merks, also emphasises that all aspects that would contribute to achieving the highest BREEAM rating have been taken into account in the development of the project. “One of the biggest advantages of the combined Design & Build approach is that the full cycle of design work and construction services can be carried out in one place, which helps achieve better results. Therefore, during the redesign of the Elemental Skanste office building, we were able to find innovative ways and solutions to achieve the highest BREEAM rating in the future. This is an excellent example of thoughtful and responsible teamwork combined with Merks’ many years of experience in the construction industry,” says A. Bišmeistars.

He also emphasizes that during the construction of the project the developers are focusing on sustainable thinking, including ensuring careful waste separation. Equally important is the need to improve the management of the engineering systems to minimize consumption at times when it is not needed, while ensuring the required level of comfort.

Elemental Skanste’s Outstanding level is the highest rating on the BREEAM rating scale, which has five levels – Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent and Outstanding. Now, when Elemental Skanste has achieved Excellent, it has already been able to demonstrate that the building has met more than 70% of the BREEAM standards, such as reducing the life cycle environmental impact of the building, delivering economic benefits and creating an environment that is good for human health. If Elemental Skanste achieves an Outstanding rating, this will mean that the building has achieved at least 85% of the above standards. It is important to mention that the highest BREEAM rating in Latvia so far has been Excellent, i.e., if Elemental Skanste achieves Outstanding, it will be the first building in Latvia with such a high rating.

Aļona Purvlīce, Sustainability Development Consultant at Vesta Consulting, confirms that during the design of Elemental Skanste additional solutions were already implemented, which contributed to its construction in accordance with the highest BREEAM standards. These include improving energy efficiency in line with this year’s changes in the energy market.

BREEAM is an international building rating system that has been used throughout Europe since 1990. BREEAM certification certifies that a building meets high standards of energy efficiency and sustainability, and that its design provides more environmentally and citizen-friendly solutions.