Sustainable Housing
Can sustainability and social housing be married in one development? Construct Ireland investigates a ground breaking social housing project in West Cork.
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From the Construct Ireland archives
Welcome to the archive of Construct Ireland, the award-winning Irish green building magazine which spawned Passive House Plus.
The feature articles in these archives span from 2003 to 2011, including case studies on hundreds of Irish sustainable buildings and dozens of investigative pieces on everything from green design and building methods, to the economic arguments for low energy construction.
While these articles appeared in an Irish publication, the vast majority of the content is relevant to our new audience in the UK and further afield. That said, readers from some regions should take care when reading some of the design advice - lots of south facing glazing in New Zealand may not be the wisest choice, for instance.
Dip in, and enjoy!
Convergence
Tom
Woolley, Professor of Architecture at Queens University Belfast and
Editor of the Green Building Handbook, draws attention to the recent
event which demonstrated the potential and importance of sustainable
building in Ireland.
Out of the ordinary
It has long been anticipated that the cost of sustainable building will come down as it enters the mass market, benefiting from economies of scale and greater industry confidence in low impact techniques and technologies as they become more familiar. Jay Stuart, managing director of integrated sustainable design consultants Delap and Waller EcoCo reveals a Kildare housing project which is likely to rapidly accelerate this process, and convince even the most conservative elements of the industry that low energy, low carbon building can be achieved at little or no additional cost
Free Heat
As Ireland struggles to meet its commitments to reducing CO2 emissions in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, the renewable energy sector continues to flourish as wind farms rapidly develop and solar energy becomes increasingly viable
Civic Pride
Intended as a landmark not only architecturally, Áras Chill Dara sets an example for large scale sustainable building, as Construct Ireland’s Jason Walsh found out.
EPA HQ
A new extension to the EPA's headquarters in Wexford lives up to the organisation's aim of environmental protection, boasting passive ventilation and lighting, a host of green technologies and a sustainable approach to landscaping.
Lime hemp
Lime-hemp is developing as a bio composite construction material with serious ecological and energy advantages. Patrick Daly, lecturer in Environmental Design at DIT Bolton St. asks if this is the environmental material of the future and explores its mainstreaming potential.
State of the Art
Inside the Lewis Glucksman Eco Gallery, with John Burgess of Arup Consulting
Mixed Signals
As it nears completion, John Hearne visits what is anticipated to be one of the lowest energy buildings in Ireland's recent history.
Venting opinions
Whilst great strides are being made in upgrading energy performance requirements under Part L of the Building Regulations, the issue of ventilation has remained largely ignored by legislators for years, leaving designers with antiquated standards to work to. At its worst, efforts to air-tighten and increase the insulation of homes is being undermined by the absurd practice of knocking holes in walls. John Hearne looks into what changes need to be made to modernise Part F.