Description
Jelgava Boarding School No.2. implements special elementary education programs for students with physical and mental development disabilities. The programs consist of sports lessons in unsuitable premises – in a classroom and a corridor, therefore the process of physical activities and rehabilitation does not correspond demands. The objective of the project is to build a new low-energy gymnasium with premises for rehabilitation in Jelgava Boarding-school No.2. The estimated energy consumption for space heating is 14,50 kWh/ m². Planned project outcomes include 182 students with physical and mental development disabilities, who will use appropriate infrastructure for sports activities and rehabilitation; 4 new workplaces will be created.
Summary of project results
The objective of the project was to build a new low energy gymnasium with premises for rehabilitation in Jelgava Boarding School No.2. The main activity of the project was building a new low energy consumption building. The construction works were finished on the 31st of May, 2016. The creation of this new building gives the staff at Jelgava Boarding School the proper facility to organize rehabilitation activities, and the new gymnasium is much better suited to the pupils' needs and will enable them to benefit from the rehabilitation to a greater extent than previously. In total 182 students with physical and cognitive disabilities benefit from the new infrastructure for sports activities and rehabilitation. Jelgava Boarding School No.2 had no suitable premises for sports and rehabilitation before this project, sport and rehabilitation activities were held in a fitted classroom. The new building has a sports hall and rooms for several kinds of rehabilitation needs, for example, physiotherapy, sand therapy, room for a speech therapist. The new facility will also create new job opportunities such as physiotherapist and speech therapist.
Summary of bilateral results
The Inland Norway Energy Agency (INEA) is a regional knowledge centre for energy efficiency and renewable energy. INEA spreads management practices, provides guidance, and offers a range of services based on specific local needs. The partner organization’s experts inspected the building and prepared recommendations about use of technologies of renewable energy resources in low energy houses and recommendations for maintenance of the new-built low energy house (gymnasium) in Jelgava Boarding-school No.2. As a result, experts of INEA developed a package of recommendations for achieving higher energy efficiency indicators, maintenance of necessary indoor climate conditions and further exploitation and monitoring of the building. The Norwegian experts had the opportunity to gain new experiences on construction and energy efficiency improvement process in Latvia – its weaknesses and strengths. One of the experts presented the elaborated recommendations during the project final conference on the 28th of June, 2016 in Jelgava.