SEB Global Services office building in GUSTAVS business centre becomes the first building in Latvia with the BREEAM Excellent fully-fitted sustainability certificate

The first building in GUSTAVS business centre in the Teika neighbourhood in Riga, which houses SEB Global Services centre in Riga since summer of 2023, has become the first building in Latvia with the BREEAM Excellent (fully-fitted) sustainability certificate.

This confirms compliance with high standards of sustainability in the construction and furnishing of the building in the field of energy efficiency, water and other resource consumption. A lot of attention has been paid to ensuring a healthy internal climate and thoughtful integration of the business centre into the existing infrastructure of the neighbourhood.

“When we began the work on our new office project, we set ourselves the goal of creating one of the most modern, inspiring and sustainable offices in Riga. We have paid a lot of attention to the well-being of our employees in the new building, so that the office is the place where our colleagues go with pleasure The convenient location of the new building has allowed many colleagues to change their habits and choose more environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as bicycles, electric scooters or public transport,” says Aļesja Kirčenko, Deputy Head of SEB Global Services in Riga.

Kaspars Beitiņš, board member of Galio Development: “As a developer with extensive experience in Lithuania, we are pleased that our debut project in Latvia – GUSTAVS business centre has achieved the best possible indicators and we have managed to develop a sustainable, energy-efficient and modern building in a former industrial area. We believe that with this event we will be able to strengthen our positions in the field of real estate in Latvia.”

Several buildings in Latvia have already obtained the BREEAM Excellent certification, but with a limited scope (shell&core) where only the building’s basic structures are evaluated. In the case of GUSTAVS, the sustainability assessment was carried out using the widest possible scope (fully-fitted), in which the used interior decoration materials, furniture, built-in technologies, lighting and acoustic comfort as well as other aspects are audited.

In work areas of the SEB office, a biodynamic lighting system has been installed, which changes the tone and intensity of the lighting during the day, similar to natural light. The building has a state-of-the-art air quality control system that also monitors CO2 and humidity levels. Solar panels have been installed on the roof, and there are electric car charging stations and a secure bicycle storage area in the underground parking lot. 100% of the electricity used by SEB in Latvia is produced from renewable sources.

BREEAM (British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is one of the world’s most widely used assessment systems for sustainable construction. GUSTAVS business centre was audited in accordance with BREEAM requirements by Vesta Consulting.
 

The owner and developer of GUSTAVS business centre is Galio Development. The architects of the building are Vilnis Mičulis and the construction works were carried out by Merks. Construction began in August 2021 and the building was commissioned on March 31, 2023. The total area of the building is 20’700 square meters, it has six floors above the ground and two underground parking levels.

Rimi Mini grocery store, iLunch lunch restaurant and Prent home appliance store also operate on the first floor of the building.