Mežciems – a neighborhood of the city of Riga in the suburb of Vidzeme

History and importance in Riga

Mežciems is a neighborhood of the city of Riga in the suburb of Vidzeme. It borders the neighborhoods of Jugla, Dreiliņu, Purvciema and Teikas. Mežciema neighborhood is located in the eastern part of Riga, including the entire Biķernieki forest massif. Thus, natural and green areas occupy 63% of the territory. The main residential structure, consisting of both high-rise buildings and detached houses, is located in the east of the neighborhood. There are several medical institutions in Mežciem, including inpatients of the Riga Eastern Hospital and the Children’s Clinical University Hospital “Gailezers”, as well as structural units of the University of Latvia and Riga Stradiņš University, which offer higher education in specialties related to medicine. At the turn of 2016 and 2017, the construction of the new residential complex “Gaiļezera nami” began on the shore of Gaiļezer. The high-rise buildings were built between 1975 and 1986 and were intended to accommodate around 15,000 residents. Mežciems multi-storey residential area consists mainly of series 602, Lithuanian project (series 464) and separate 16-storey buildings of series 104. They were initially allocated apartments for artists, doctors and factory workers.

Territory and construction

All houses are built from panels. The buildings of the first variant are 12 or 16 stories high, but with one staircase. The buildings of the second type are 12 stories high, made of panels and bricks used in the stairwell. The houses of both types of the project have two elevators – a small passenger elevator and a large cargo elevator. The outer walls of the house are made of band-shaped aerated concrete panels, while the inner load-bearing walls are made of reinforced concrete panels. Apartments of the 104 series have a functional, comfortable layout – the sanitary facilities are located next to the bedrooms, while the living room is next to the kitchen. These buildings are characterized by large loggias, which are usually the entire length of the room and can be glazed to create a summer veranda. The most common typical house in Riga. Houses of the 602 series are nine-story large-panel buildings (there are also 6-story buildings), a separate bathroom, a loggia, and a relatively large kitchen.

NCC Houses at Biķernieku street 160
Jaunbiķeri, Kaivas street 14
Kaivas Residential, residential complex on Kaivas street

Infrastructure

Transportation:

Bus: 5, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 29, 31
Trolleybus: 14, 18
Night bus: N5

education

Riga 89th secondary school
Mežciemas elementary school
Riga 242nd preschool educational institution.
Riga 241st preschool educational institution

Shops

MAXIMA XXX, Biķernieku street 143, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1079
RIMI, Gaiļezera iela 8, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1079
RIMI, Sergeja Eisenstein iela 29, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1035
MEGO, Biķernieku Street 98, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1079
BETA, Hipokrāta street 7, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1079
ELKES, Celmu iela 3, Vidzeme suburb, Riga, LV-1079