This issue features a low energy community centre in a mountainous region of Austria.

The first phase of Agar Grove, the UK’s largest passive house development, has now been completed for the London Borough of Camden. Hawkins\Brown acted as lead architect on the project, while Architype acted as passive house delivery architect for the first phase of the scheme, which provides 38 homes that are all socially rented to existing estate tenants.

The rural Herefordshire village of Garway is busy planning for a sustainable future with construction of a new community centre to the passive house standard.

Naked house, the pre-fabricated passive house construction company, is launching a new ultra-low cost construction option aimed at charitable and community based organisations.

Green Building TV, a new community platform that uses video to communicate ideas, products and services between buyers and sellers — all relating to the sustainable construction sector — is set to go live in mid June. 

Plans for the first Irish eco-village have been in the works since 1999, but – finally – work is well underway at The Village in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary. Following a site visit in December, Lenny Antonelli gives an overview of the innovative project’s renewable energy district heating system and sustainable planning and community design approach, before profiling four of the first houses to be built.

The development of Coppinger Court, a high density apartment complex on Popes Quay, Cork City, has been broadly received with a warm response, picking up awards in 2004 including the RIAI Best Sustainable Building award.