Easca

Over the months since the inception of Construct Ireland our daily conversations with those of you in industry has brought us to the inescapable conclusion that a collective meeting ground is of vital importance to ensure the proactive future of sustainability in our society. Construct Ireland is involved with three leading architects in the formation of an association to promote the viability of sustainable building in Ireland. The fledgling association has a nucleus of Duncan Stewart (RTE1’s About the House), Professor Tom Woolley (Queens’ University Belfast), Paul Leech (Leech-Gaia Ecotecture), and our own editor Jeff Colley, who have come together out of a mutual belief that products and techniques with environmental, human health, energy efficiency and social benefits have enormous potential for application in
mainstream construction work.

 

’We’ve gone through a changing time throughout the world. Awareness of environmental and ecological issues has come very much to the fore. With all this change and the pressure on the environment, sustainability is becoming a centrepiece in our lives. There is a huge desire out there to do the right thing, but also a huge lack of knowledge and a huge lack of awareness of issues, and availability of products, systems and trade skills and so on, especially in the self build industry.’ – Duncan Stewart.

‘There are many designs and solutions that don’t actually work. Mistakes are being made. Yet out there is a huge resource of very well proven products, systems, experts and skills. It’s a matter of coordinating these so that on one level the consumer trying to do the right thing can source the right product or system and at the same time those providing the right skills have a market. Construct Ireland is a natural catalyst for this, it’s a synergy base.’ – Duncan Stewart.

Lobbying has been identified as another key area where the association intends to have a lasting effect. ‘There needs to be a pressure group, a lobbying pressure group’, Stewart states. ‘EASCA could form a very large network that could put pressure on agencies and commercial companies. There’s a huge range of scope for the association.’ Construct Ireland, as a vehicle for the association, is perfectly poised to help in this regard. Construct Ireland is increasingly producing articles reminding the reader of Ireland’s commitments under directives as varied as the Kyoto Protocol, the National Climate Change Strategy, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, the WEEE and ROHS directives, the thorough and ongoing revision of the Building Regulations, the introduction of energy auditing for virtually all buildings, the Polluter Pays Principle, and the imminent introduction of a Carbon Tax.

‘EASCA will network together architects, builders, suppliers of materials and others in the construction industry, so that they are able to respond to the interest in sustainable construction and assist each other in providing a professional and commercially viable service.’ – Tom Woolley