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!

Clonakilty eco house

Clonakilty Eco house
A new house in west Cork offers a green vision for the future of Irish home building: not only is it A-rated, airtight and highly energy efficient, it’s built with ecological materials that are manufactured in Ireland too.

Breaking the mould - part III

Breaking the mould
In April this year the first NSAI Agrément certificate was issued for the application of external insulation to existing dwellings. Joseph Little of leading green architects Joseph Little Architects used analysis from his practice’s Building Life Consultancy service to assess the certificate, and encountered issues which raised questions over whether it should have been issued in its current form.

Ecohouse

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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.



Limerick civic precinct

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With great attention to energy, materials and water, ABK Architects’ new civic precinct shows that smart green design can show no sign of compromise

Eco Lodgings

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Construct Ireland’s Jason Walsh visited the Brooklodge in Macreddin, County Wicklow, to find out about how one hotel has found rising fossil fuel costs the perfect reason to invest in a sustainable future.

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

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As the January 2006 deadline for implementation of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings draws ever nearer, the Irish Government has spelt out its plans to delay the across the board introduction of building energy ratings until 2009. But how does this compare to other EU Member States?

Carrigaline passive house

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

Opinion

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Eamon Ryan, former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (2007-2011)

Southern comfort

Timber eco home fuses south facing with south Dublin
Sustainable building at its best is about much more than just energy and carbon emissions, and involves considering location, form, orientation and the use of healthy, environmentally friendly materials. Mike Haslam of trail-blazing ecological architects Solearth describes a family home which scores highly on every front

From the ashes...

From the ashes
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.