A new house in Wexford is the first in the country to achieve an A1 Building Energy Rating and certified passive house status – arguably making it the most energy efficient building yet built in Ireland. So why did a regulatory flaw risk rendering it non-compliant?
Nothing drives innovation like adversity. Facing up to the prospect of scarce energy and other resources, we can take inspiration equally from the Inuit and the most avant-garde of passive house designers, as Sofie Pelsmakers reveals in her choice of six uniquely inspiring buildings from around the world.
Predicted energy usage seldom reflect actual consumption, whether in the case of typical stock or notionally low energy buildings. But how well does passive house turn theory into reality?
Do Irish buildings need the most heat when it's coldest, or when it's milder but windy? What consequences are there for how we build and heat them? And how airtight are Irish buildings anyway?
How do you make an old building liveable on Ireland’s wind ravaged Atlantic coast? The answer lies in the envelope, with airtightness, super insulation and the eradication of cold bridges
As Passive House Plus goes to press confirmation has come through that an extension to a nursing home in Celbridge, Co Kildare, has become the first healthcare building – and the first extension of any kind – to become certified passive.
What do certified passive houses in Germany & France, community centres in Austria and the USA and the 2011 Solar Decathlon winner have in common? Passive House Association of Ireland chair Martin Murray of Martin Murray Architects finds inspiration in each of the five ground breaking buildings