This autumn a sand-bag house, which is the first of this type eco building in Latvia, was opened in Vienkoči Park (Līgatne).

The sand-bag house includes various eco building ideas. Its central part is built from recycled used bags filled with sand and clay mixture. The outer walls of the bags are edged with turf, but internal walls are plastered with clay. Wood logs and bottles of wine are used in the construction of the lobby. The wine bottles were used to make stained glass, thus giving extra light in the day time. At night the stained glass serves as a kind of luminous body of the Vienkoči park landscape. The inner room is arranged with dugout furniture and chandelier of wine bottles. The main emphasis of building the eco house is usage of local natural materials and recycled materials. Material costs for such house is relatively low, but the construction work is heavy. The house is an experiment to see how this idea is able to live in climatic conditions of Latvia. The new sand-bag house not only improves the exposure of the Vienkoči Park, but also makes visitors think about natural and alternative ideas.