Akropole Shopping and Entertainment Centre has been recognized as the best BIM object in the show “The Best Building of the Year in Latvia 2019”

The winners of the prestigious show "The Best Building of the Year in Latvia 2019" were announced in a special video greeting on April 17. This year, the show is taking place already for the 22nd time, and 90 buildings completed last year were judged in eight categories. In a fierce competition, the jury consisting of 50 members selected Akropole Shopping and Entertainment Centre as the best BIM (Building Information Model – an integrated set of building design, engineering, construction and management processes, technologies and rules that allow multiple parties to jointly design, build and manage a building in a digital environment) object of the year. Akropole also has won the 3rd place in the nomination category “New Public Building”.

“We are truly thankful to the jury for their recognition and are proud that Akropole has won two awards – last year's best BIM object and 3rd place in the nomination category “New Public Building”. Our contribution has been appreciated – thanks to careful and thought-out planning and skilful selection of materials, technologies and systems, Akropole has been ranked among the highest quality, most efficient and safest buildings in Latvia last year,” says Akropole Shopping and Entertainment Centre CEO Zane Kaktiņa.

Akropole is one of the biggest building projects in Latvia in recent years. The shopping and entertainment centre spans an area of 98,000 square metres, while the total area of the territory covers almost 16 hectares. Total investments in the implementation of the project, including transport infrastructure construction and improvements to the surrounding area, have reached almost EUR 180 million. The client for the object is SIA M257, construction work was carried out by SIA Merks, the author’s supervision was done by Sarma & Norde Arhitekti, while construction supervision was performed by Būvuzraugi.lv.

“This is the largest construction project in the experience of Merks, which we implemented in cooperation with UAB Mintija. More than a thousand employees and 45 supervisors and engineers were simultaneously involved in the construction of Akropole. The construction process was fast, extensive and sometimes even a bit stressful, but when we completed the project, we were very satisfied with the results, as there is something special about this object. Akropole is not a one-man project – it could only be implemented by a team of professionals, and every party involved was truly doing their best. We appreciate the recognition demonstrated by the industry, it is a motivation to keep moving forward in the future as well,” points out Merks CEO and Construction Manager Andris Bišmeistars.

The mission of “The Best Building of the Year in Latvia 2019” is to facilitate quality of the building process by identifying and promoting the best buildings and examples in Latvia and abroad in 2019, to support professional development and work quality in the industry, to acknowledge the best professionals in the and motivate them for high achievements by highlighting the end result of the building process – the building. This competition has taken place already for the 22^nd time, and objects are evaluated by the best experts of the industry selected as members of the jury by professional organizations. Competition consists of three rounds, and every candidate building is carefully and responsively evaluated.  

Akropole shopping and entertainment centre is not only the newest and most modern shopping centre in Latvia, but also the first in Latvia that, thanks to the highest energy efficiency and sustainability standards, has received the prestigious BREEM certificate at the designing and also at the construction stage. The shopping and entertainment centre has also been recognized as the winner in the nomination category “The Best Public Building of Last Year” of the competition “Latvian Construction Annual Awards 2019”. Akropole is home to the largest B+ class Business Centre in Latvia, which is connected to the shopping centre. Here, visitors will find the only Van Graaf multi-brand store in the Baltics, a Deichmann footwear store, as well as the region’s only USC and adidas Originals sporting and lifestyle goods stores. In addition, the shopping centre also contains the biggest Zara, Reserved, Oysho, Guess and KidzOne brand stores in Latvia, as well as the only River Island brand store to also offers a collection for men. This extensive range of shops is augmented by restaurants and cafés for various tastes, a spacious and elegant Maxima XXX supermarket, modern gym, as well as various leisure and entertainment options for the whole family.