An architect’s four-year quest to build his family home on a Dublin laneway demonstrates how mass timber can maximize space and character in the tightest urban sites – with award-winning results, and fascinating performance insights.
Additional reporting by Jeff Colley
AECB seeks executive director to lead green building push
Written by News Desk
The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) is recruiting an executive director in what the organisation describes as a rare opportunity to shape the future of sustainable construction in the UK
With an increasing emphasis on the electrification of heat as the electricity grid decarbonises, interest in reducing the embodied carbon of buildings is growing. But does a focus on embodied carbon alone risk giving needlessly energy intensive ways of making buildings a free pass? In the first of a new series of articles, Dr Lois Hurst journeys into understanding embodied and life cycle impacts in construction.
Air tightness training course to launch in Carlow this March
Written by News DeskIrish energy consultancy 2eva is set to run a two-day professional training course for air tightness testers this spring, aimed at both newcomers to the discipline and experienced practitioners looking to formalise their skills, as well as timed to meet what the company sees as growing demand for qualified testers in Ireland.
From frozen tea to thermal bliss: energy specialist Esmond Tresidder transformed his leaky 1970s Highland home into one of the highest performing retrofits ever featured in these pages, combining academic knowledge with hands-on retrofit innovation to create a comfortable, healthy family haven with breathtaking views of Ben Nevis, proving that even Scotland’s most challenging climates are no match for passive house principles.
Through passion, patience, and architectural expertise, a 16th century Carmel-ite friar’s cottage in Kinsale, owned by Passive House Plus columnist Dr Marc Ó Riain, has achieved what many thought impossible— an A1 energy rating for a Tudor-era building. But not without challenges.
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.
As electricity decarbonises, the case for switching from fossil fuel boilers to efficient use of electricity to heat buildings via heat pumps has become overwhelming. But in markets like the UK where electricity is far more expensive than the European average, and people on low incomes may be chronically underheating poorly insulated homes, could a drive to electrify heating exacerbate energy poverty?
New Ejot profile cuts thermal bridging losses by 25mm insulation equivalent
Written by News Desk
A thermal bridging issue that has long plagued external wall insulation systems at building base levels could be costing homeowners the equivalent of 25 mm of insulation thickness, according to new independent testing.
Build Homes Better updates Isoquick certification to tackle brick support challenge
Written by Jason Walsh
Build Homes Better has secured an updated KIWA Agrément certificate for its Isoquick insulated foundation system, adding a brick support detail that solves a critical structural requirement set by leading warranty providers including the National House Building Council (NHBC).
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Peter Rickaby looks back on an extraordinary career, the challenge of convincing people of the need for a new approach to buildings, and the people who helped him to do just that.
The transformative power of industrialised retrofit
Written by Ele GeorgeTripling EU / UK Energy Efficiency Policy: the NZEB
Written by Marc O'RiainOne 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.
#BuildingLife Series: Director at CORA Consulting Engineers, John Casey
Written by Jeff Colley
In each edition, Passive Plus Plus profiles leaders in construction and architecture who have endorsed the Irish Green Building Council’s call to address the environmental impacts of buildings across their entire lifecycle.