From the Construct Ireland archives

Designing a low energy building when you've got unlimited space is one thing – but what if you need to make your walls thin to maximise space on a small site in an architectural conservation area? Lenny Antonelli visited a new St Vincent De Paul sheltered housing project that fit a lot of sustainable features on to a small plot in Dublin's north inner city.

With the age of cheap and abundant fossil fuel energy coming to an end, district heating, where a development is heated from a single, centralised heat source is becoming an increasingly attractive option due to the capital and running cost, efficiency and environmental benefits it can offer. Paraic Davis of Davis Associates mechanical and electrical engineers explains why district heating has become a viable and increasingly popular choice in Ireland.

An indepth look at the forthcoming Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings by Jeff Colley.

Woodspec -First Timber Specifiers Guide Produced in Ireland

In this special feature, Construct Ireland draws from the views, hopes and concerns of four people ideally poised to comment on the implications this directive will have on how we design, construct, renovate, manage and think about buildings in Ireland.

The building is the first all timber office complex in Ireland. It covers almost 2,300m2 of floor space and provides accommodation for almost 100 staff working in a wide range of forestry related disciplines.

Richard Douthwaite explores the best options available to solve the intermittency problem of wind energy and help Ireland to harness its famously abundant natural resources

It is hoped that the lessons learned from the construction and monitoring of these buildings will assist in reducing the energy usage of future school designs.

Closed-panel timber frame home in Wicklow with impressive thermal performance and airtightness

Mandatory for virtually all building types since January of this year, Building Energy Ratings have been met with little fanfare. Construct Ireland proposes a cost-free method of levelling the marketplace by ensuring compliance and increasing awareness of the BERs legal status. Jason Walsh explains.