Opinion - Is passive house going mainstream?
Archie O’Donnell, projects coordinator for Éasca and the Irish Passive House Association
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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!
Sociable Housing
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
State of the Art
Inside the Lewis Glucksman Eco Gallery, with John Burgess of Arup Consulting
Navan Credit Union
Architect Paul Leech explains why the new Navan Credit Union is arguably Ireland’s most innovative sustainable building to date, and outlines his hopes that the experience gained from this project can help the construction industry to realise sustainable building in Ireland.
Why Knott?
Lorna Kelly, of the Irish Timber Frame Manafacturers Association, takes a look at IrishTimber Frame
All weather house
A sustainable building must address more than energy, carbon or materials, argues Irish born architect Stephen Roe of up-and-coming London architects Roewu – it must respond to its environment. Not only does Roe’s design for the All Weather House achieve that, it boasts green materials, renewable heating and generous insulation too.
International Selections
Newly inaugurated RIAI president Paul Keogh selects four diverse UK projects that integrate sustainability without compromising on design
International
Green architect Minka McInerney profiles six unique green buildings including a cardboard school building, a globe-trotting recycled museum & the tallest timber building in the world
Home and dry
Homeowners thinking of applying for Home Energy Saving scheme grants should pay close attention to a renovation project in Stillorgan, south Dublin. The refurbishment boasts every upgrade measure grant-aided under the scheme, including three types of wall insulation, a high efficiency boiler and sophisticated heating controls. Lenny Antonelli visited the house to find out more.
International selection
When Construct Ireland asked Vivienne Brophy of the UCD Energy Research Group to select projects for this feature she suggested that the second year UCD Architecture students make the selection, using UCD’s sustainable building rating system tool to verify their choice