From the Construct Ireland archives

For a building to truly be considered a passive house a vast range of criteria need to be met, as Niels Bjergstrom, founder of Zero-Carbon Solutions Ltd reveals.

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.

Developers across Ireland are beginning to see the sense in shifting from individual heating systems to centralised energy production feeding into district heating networks. John Hearne visited a mixed-use scheme in Ballisodare, County Sligo, where a cutting edge biomass energy centre is providing a multitude of different buildings with energy from a green, secure source.

The market for new residential build may have bottomed out, but compared to the rest of the construction industry the sustainable building sector appears buoyant. Changing market conditions, various government incentives and updated building regulations are all helping greener building companies - but with few houses likely to be built this year and capital restricted, challenges still lie ahead. Lenny Antonelli reports

Lorna Kelly, of the Irish Timber Frame Manafacturers Association, takes a look at IrishTimber Frame

The development of sustainable building in Ireland has had to wait for the public to become concerned about energy supply, climate change, and the implications of living in draughty, damp buildings.  Much of the established low energy know-how emanates from countries where cold winters drove innovation. Drawing from 50 years of research and development between the Canadian government and housing industry, the Super E programme may be just what Ireland needs, as John Hearne discovered at a new development in Rosslare.

A striking new house in County Cork proves that meeting the passive house standard needn’t mean sacrificing good design

Ramon Arratia, sustainability director for InterfaceFLOR in Europe, Middle East, Africa & India

Richard Douthwaite reveals that oil and gas peak are barely mentioned in the Government's recent energy Green Paper.