From the Construct Ireland archives

Bank of America Tower, to be located at One Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan is a US$1 billion project that has been designed to be one of the most highly efficient and ecologically friendly tall buildings in the world. The building, currently under construction, is expected to be complete in 2008.

Jason Walsh got in touch with Cook + Fox Architects in New York, designers of the Bank of America Tower to see how the practice plans to square the circle of designing an environmentally sound high-rise building.

Long-caricatured as resource destroying monsters clad in steel and glass, the skyscraper is rarely viewed as an environmentally sound form of architecture. Construct Ireland’s Jason Walsh looks at efforts underway to change that perception.

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

Assessing the Impact on Agriculture of Predicted Changes in Irish Climate by Dr Nicholas Holden

Hotels typically take a heavy toll on the environment, with large amounts of energy used for heating, hot water, lighting, air conditioning and laundry, and huge amounts of waste being landfilled each year. John Hearne visited the Westport Woods Hotel and discovered a highly successful approach to reducing environmental impact that is also yielding substantial dividends in terms of cost savings and positive publicity

 
A framework for strategic sustainability is essential if we’re serious about greening the Irish built environment.
According to green architect Pat Barry, we should look no further than The Natural Step.

In light of the failure of AER 5 and the widespread pessimism in the wind industry regarding converting AER 6 contracts into operating wind farms, we asked the six main political parties what their proposals are for the development of an Irish wind industry.

Air-tightness is a key factor in any low energy build, but is often overlooked in comparison to energy sources and insulation. Lenny Antonelli examines how air-tightness is achieved in buildings, from design stage down to the final sealing

Heat recovery ventilation, a technology that has become a standard building application in Scandinavian countries, is rapidly gaining recognition in Ireland as a solution to both problems.

Lenny Antonelli visited a recently refurbished complex of social housing flats in Galway city that has combined excellence in urban regeneration with energy efficiency and major strides towards sustainability