Innovation Unleashed: Modular House Hackathon – from inspiration to realisation
This year, Latvijas Finieris, in collaboration with Latvia’s State Forests (LVM), launched the Modular House Hackathon—an inspiring competition designed to ignite creativity and drive solutions to industry challenges. This groundbreaking initiative offers participants a unique opportunity to shape the future of modular housing.
Phase One, Spring 2023: Igniting Ideas
The journey began with weekly online events delving into modular houses, wood construction and material analysis. Participants gained valuable insights through an exclusive excursion to Latvijas Finieris’ plywood production mills in Riga, exploring the intricacies of plywood manufacturing. The pinnacle of this phase was the 4–6 hour idea competition hosted at the LVM client centre in Jelgava. Here, teams showcased their innovation in a rapid-fire 3-minute pitch, with the most promising ideas propelling to the next stage.
Phase Two, Summer 2023: Nurturing Concepts
The selected teams embarked on a six-month concept development and prototype-building incubator, guided by mentors from Latvijas Finieris, Riga Wood Baltic, Latvia’s State Forests, Riga Technical University and other companies and institutions. Furthermore, the expertise of the research and innovation platform “Morberga Studija”, in collaboration with the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute, ensured participants received the support needed to refine and shape their groundbreaking concepts.
Also, multiple ways for outdoor activities and territory development were reviewed during the challenge. The project recently witnessed an enriching workshop at the Latvijas Finieris camping site “Abragciems”.
The Modular House Hackathon not only underscores Latvijas Finieris’ commitment to innovation but also propels the industry towards sustainable, efficient and cutting-edge solutions. As we continue to foster creativity and collaboration, the journey towards a future defined by modular excellence is well underway.
The jury and expert board
The jury and expert board are comprised of experts from Latvijas Finieris, Riga Wood Baltic, Latvia's State Forests, MeKA, Riga Technical University, Morberga Studija, Pavasars: Māris Būmanis, Latvijas Finieris executive board member, Uģis Ozols, Riga Wood Baltic director, Ilze Kalniņa, Latvijas Finieris plywood project manager, Intars Metums, Riga Wood Baltic wholesale executive chief, Guntis Sala, main architect at Latvijas Finieris, and Gunita Meiere, Latvijas Finieris board member and head of HR and Administration, Tomass Kotovičs, Head of Latvia's State Forests communication unit, Andrejs Domkins, MeKA director, Anatolijs Borodiņecs, head of RTU SITK department, Rūdis Rubenis, architect and wood architecture expert, Matijs Babris, founder of Morberga Studija innovation centre, Elīna Miķelsone, director at RTU Science and Innovation centre, Inguss Pavasars, founder CEO “Pavasars”, Egons Bērziņš, architect, collectively bring a wealth of experience and expertise to ensure the competition’s success.
Stay tuned to be the first to know which projects will win awards and what their concepts and innovations are.