The educational and dormitory building for senior students of the Exupéry International School in Piņķi commissioned in operation

SIA “Merks” has completed construction works of the educational and dormitory building for senior students of the Exupéry International School in Piņķi and the facility has been put into operation. The project was implemented in less than a year, utilising the “design & build” principle, where Merks managed both the design and construction works of the facility. This principle helps to achieve the desired result within the time and budget desired by the customer. More than 500 students will be able to study in the new secondary school-college at any one time, while the dormitory building will be able to accommodate up to 100 people. The total area of the building amounts to 6,766.8 square metres.

“The new secondary school-college building follows the world construction trends and meets the highest requirements of modern quality and energy efficiency. The project structures are made of cross-laminated timber or CLT panels, which is an environmentally friendly solution and uses natural renewable timber resources. It was a challenge for us to use CLT panels for the first time in such a large construction that we ended up successfully implementing. We are all very thankful to the project team supervised by the project manager Jānis Zilgme, says Andris Bišmeistars, Board Member and Construction Director of Merks.

The architectural concept of the building was developed by architect Juris Lasis from the architect office “8 A.M.”. The design of the educational and dormitory building of the Exupéry International School is implemented in two parts:  the secondary school-college part is located in first and second floor of the building, whereas the dormitory space of the students takes up three floors. Technical spaces are located on the roof. Paved driveways and sidewalks have also been constructed.

The project was developed using the BIM platform with most of the construction elements being produced in “off-site” technology, which shortens the construction time and increases the quality, as well as allows to make the building hermetic faster, protecting it from the effects of adverse weather conditions.

Exupéry International School (EIS) is a private international school in Piņķi, Latvia, founded in 2016. It offers a full educational cycle for children aged 2.5 to 17 from Latvia, the Baltic States and other countries around the world. The area of the first phase of EIS buildings is 6577 square metres, the total area of the secondary school and dormitory building is 6766.8 square meters.

EIS is part of the international community of IB (International Baccalaureate) schools. The school operates according to strict standards of the International Baccalaureate, offering children a unique educational environment, taking into account the latest trends and best educational practices, stimulating the acquisition of foreign languages and the development of multiculturalism.  

Thanks to the Act on International Schools [Starptautisko skolu likums], adapted in Latvia on July 11, 2020, our country has marked itself a solid place on the world map of the IB educational level. The EIS complex of educational institutions meets all the requirements necessary to provide an educational program in accordance with international standards, and to attract the most capable students not only from the Baltics, but from all over the world.

Construction company Merks is a general contractor in the construction of public, residential and industrial buildings, as well as engineering structures, and has been operating in Latvia since 1996. Merks has built more than 120 different construction objects in Latvia, including public buildings, industrial buildings and engineering structures, and built more than 1,500 apartments. Merks is a part of the Baltic construction market leader Merko Ehitus group, whose shares have been listed on the Tallinn Nasdaq Stock Exchange since 1997.