What do certified passive houses in Germany & France, community centres in Austria and the USA and the 2011 Solar Decathlon winner have in common? Architect and Passive House Association of Ireland chair Martin Murray finds inspiration in each of the five ground breaking buildings

Martin Murray, chairman of the Passive House Association of Ireland, explains why the world’s leading energy efficiency standard is on the up in Ireland

Located in Oldtown, a hard to find country town in County Dublin, is a stunning new one-off house that not only manages to bring open-plan living to rural life, but also meets the onerous passive house standards using low impact materials. Jason Walsh visited the site as the house neared completion to find out more, an opportunity that Construct Ireland couldn’t pass up