Cairn Homes - passivehouseplus.ie

Passive house has long been typecast as the preserve of deep-pocketed self-builders sold on the dream before pen hits paper. Now Ireland's largest housebuilder has smashed that assumption, delivering four passive schemes — and 1,755 homes — simultaneously, first time. And the real innovation may be what happened after the builders left: an unprecedented effort to prepare residents, housing staff and maintenance teams for life in a passive house — an effort led, in the interests of full disclosure, by this magazine's publishers.

Proctor Group’s Wraptite airtight membrane has been used on one of the largest passive house projects in Ireland, with the self-adhering membrane forming part of the external wall build-up at Cairn Homes’ Pipers Square development in Charlestown, Dublin.

In September Cairn Homes lit the fuse on a passive house explosion, publishing a position paper on passive house and announcing the construction of nearly 1,800 apartments to the standard. But what’s behind the company’s bold move?