Marc Ó Riain is the president emeritus of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, a founding editor of Iterations design research journal and practice review, a former director of Irish Design 2015, a board member of the new Design Enterprise Skillsnet and has completed a PhD in low energy building retrofit, realising Ireland’s first commercial nZEB retrofit in 2013.
Retrofit redux: Catching up with A3
The upgrade of Ireland's retrofit target to A3 marks a critical step forward, bridging the gap between energy modelling and real-world performance, explains Dr. Marc Ó Riain.
Tripling EU / UK Energy Efficiency Policy: the NZEB
One of Europe’s key climate breakthroughs came in the form of the EU’s nearly zero energy building target, as Dr. Marc Ó Riain explains in the latest part of his series on the history of low energy building.
Energising Efficiency
In the latest piece in his series on the development of low energy building, Dr Marc Ó Riain describes the evolution and Impact of EPCs in Ireland and the UK.
Out of the blue - a passive revolution
An early green building in a changing Ireland
Bedding sustainability into British buildings: Bioregional’s BedZed
Does nuclear have a role to play in decarbonising energy?
HomeWorld 1981: car engine-driven houses & low energy ideas that stuck
In the latest missive in his series on the history of low energy design, Dr Marc Ó'Riain looks to some wacky and wonderful experimentation in a project that aimed to transform public perception of Milton Keynes.
The world energy crisis 2022
The energy crises of the 1970s did not prompt a major shift in Europe from foreign oil and gas towards energy efficiency and renewables. Will we learn this time around, wonders Dr Marc O Riain
The 1980s: A renewable revolution undermined
Marc O Riain explores how policy on both side of the Atlantic in the 1980s sabotaged a nascent revolution in renewables and energy conservation.