From the Construct Ireland archives

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

Construct Ireland’s John Hearne discovers the growing shift towards making sites independent in terms of both water supply and wastewater treatment.

As fears grow amongst climate scientists that the world may be close to reaching a tipping point leading to runaway global warming, there’s a growing recognition that the forthcoming UN climate conference in Copenhagen must deliver dramatic and binding targets to cut carbon. According to Richard Douthwaite, the talks are unlikely to deliver sufficiently meaningful action.

U-value alone is a blunt instrument for gauging the thermal performance of a building. Ground-breaking eco architects Joseph Little and Benat Arregi of Building Life Consultancy explain why our increasingly ambitious insulation efforts must involve a rigorous attention to thermal bridging if we’re serious about creating low energy, healthy buildings.

Construct Ireland tracked down the busy director of Limerick Civil Trust to talk about the sterling work already done, current projects and to ponder the implications of recent FAS cutbacks.

Designing a low-energy public building with passive ventilation and lighting in mind is one thing – making it fit seamlessly into a rural wetland environment is quite another. Lenny Antonelli visited the award-winning Ballybay Wetlands Centre in County Monaghan - a closed-panel timber frame structure designed to sit softly on the surrounding landscape.

In this fifth & final article in the series, Joseph Little compares simulations of several internal insulation options on common wall types, with worrying conclusions.

Landowners & Cement Producers Gain, Homebuyers & Taxpayers Suffer. By Richard Douthwaite

When designing and building high density apartment and housing developments, the attention, so often lacking, to acoustic performance, can have a critical impact on the quality of life of the buildings’ inhabitants, as leading acoustic consultant Jim Dunne, Managing Director of Integrated Acoustic Solutions explains

More and more businesses are looking to alternative energy sources to light, heat and cool their buildings but few have made a commitment to cutting carbon emissions to match Newbridge Silver, a silverware manufacturer in County Kildare. Jason Walsh visited the factory to find out more.