From the Construct Ireland archives

The Carroll’s cigarette factory in Dundalk has been reborn as an avant garde exemplar of wind energy storage and an ingenious approach to integrated heating, ventilation and cooling, as sustainable design expert Chris Croly of BDP explains.

Many of the opportunities that trees offer for sustainable building are harnessed by a housing development in Ballymahon, Co. Longford which combines timber frame construction with recycled newspaper insulation and wood pellet heating. Adding in solar panels and attention to detail for airtightness, these low energy, low carbon homes reveal a developer who sees a bright future in going green. John Hearne visited the site to find out more.

Conventional wisdom dictates that higher construction costs — for instance to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions — would either squeeze developers’ profit margins or increase house prices. Tom Dunne, Head of DIT’s School of Real Estate and Construction Economics, reveals how misguided this view could be...

The worl­d has learned the hard way that our political leaders lacked the judgement and resolve to identify and address the problems which led to the recession. Richard Douthwaite argues that a similarly flawed judgement is evident in the assumption that the economy will recover, and advises on how to prepare for a future of global economic contraction.

Patrick Daly  highlights that the energy refurbishment of our existing housing stock must become a priority. Daly has undertaken a retrospective DEAP case study assessment of an example house and its BER ratings, with staggering results.

As the main attraction at the Spring House and Garden Show in the RDS earlier this year, the “Eco House” claimed to offer the house buying public an entirely ecologically sound new home, with considerations for energy efficiency, the environment and health evident in the design, structure, materials and technologies showcased in the house. Construct Ireland spoke to the house’s architect, John Goulding and Director of Century Homes, Paul MacDonald, who explain not only the technological considerations but the environmental demand for such a project.

John Goulding, the architect on the Eco House, has been actively involved in researching energy efficient design for the past 18 years, working through UCD’s influential Energy Research Group, and has worked on several European Commission funded research and building demonstration projects. He explains to Construct Ireland’s Jeff Colley how the Eco House performs.

Watford, just over 30 kilometres north of London, is now home to an aspirational new house, developed by an Irish company, designed to completely remove carbon emissions from the home. Jason Walsh visited the site to learn more

Architect Eva Murphyova creates a modern and sustainable take on the traditional farm settlement with the addition of a new envelope, timber frame extension and sustainable heat sources

Richard Douthwaite proposes a new bank-free, debt-free way of financing property purchase and development to get the market working again and clear up the mess left by the bubble.

The Department of Agriculture’s new Food Safety Centre is a deceptively simple building that combines natural ventilation and lighting with energy efficiency - all on a designed natural landscape that seeks to both boost biodiversity and prevent flooding. Lenny Antonelli visited the County Kildare site to find out more