Most polluting cements ruled out in Irish public procurement
Highly polluting cements are to be ruled out of public sector projects in Ireland from September, due to new government public procurement rules.
person_outline
Big picture - Triana House boutique hotel
The first passive house certified hotel in Seville’s historic centre defies the challenges posed by its hot climate, small size, and preservation requirements, showcasing innovative strategies to mitigate heat and maximize energy efficiency.
by Juan Manuel Castaño and María Vico, Castaño & Asociados Passivhaus
Buy, hold or sell
Recent analysis has suggested a slowdown in the property sector for 2024, but what impact might a drop in inflation have? Mel Reynolds runs the numbers.
Banking on sustainability
Last year Irish banking behemoth AIB launched discounted development finance for homes certified to the Irish Green Building Council’s rating system, the Home Performance Index. But what was behind the move, how is it being received and does this indicate the finance industry is getting serious about green homes?
Additional words by Jeff Colley
Bonny in Clyde
How do you solve a problem like decarbonising social housing, and do so rapidly, en masse, in a manner that lifts vulnerable people out of fuel poverty while delivering warm, healthy homes? River Clyde Homes may be about to pull off the seemingly impossible.
Unilin appoints new general manager for the UK and Ireland
Aidan Doyle has joined insulation manufacturer, Unilin Insulation, as General Manager for both the Ireland and UK businesses.
Seal of office
While the passive house standard has had a lasting impact on the design and construction of new homes in Ireland, progress has been slower in commercial property. With the business world under increasing pressure to take meaningful climate action while providing better working conditions for staff, one new office building in the southeast may be a sign of things to come – and a beacon for a UN-affiliated project.
Key industry events at Energy Show 2024
Businesses involved in the supply chain for low energy building or retrofit in Ireland take note: there are a number of must see events at the Energy Show in Dublin.
From small screen to deep green
The new Oxfordshire studio of Charlie Luxton Design, the practice of the well-known TV presenter and architectural designer, is deeply impressive for its exhaustive attention to sustainability across every facet of the project, from energy use and embodied carbon to the reuse of materials and the ecological restoration of the three-and-a-half-acre site. It’s a gorgeous building, too.
St Albans passive house scheme launches, promising luxury and energy income
Home buyers seeking sustainable luxury and energy income in a sought-after part of England have a rare opportunity with a newly launched passive house scheme in St Albans.
More...
Licence to skill
The ever-tightening ambitions to integrate sustainability throughout Ireland’s new and existing buildings won’t be realised unless we can find smart, flexible ways to upskill the industry. Lis O’Brien of Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) explains how Digital Academy for Sustainable Built Environment (DASBE) has it cracked.
An early green building in a changing Ireland
It’s fair to say that green building wasn’t a thing in early 90s Ireland, which makes one
extraordinary Dublin project from 1994 all the more remarkable, as Dr. Marc O Riain writes.
Bedding sustainability into British buildings: Bioregional’s BedZed
Shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2003, BedZed was a prominent example of architecture
starting to pay attention to sustainability. But how well did it work? In the latest part of his series
on the history of low energy architecture, Dr. Marc O Riain looks back at a landmark project.
Is shared equity a bridge too far?
In the face of an affordability crisis, first time buyers of new homes are being offered a cocktail of incentives to help them get on the property ladder, including the government’s Help to Buy and First Home schemes. Mel Reynolds asks: are these the solution to the affordability crisis?