Green shoots at EcoBuild and Plan Expo from 3 to 5 November

This year’s Plan Expo, Ireland’s largest building exhibition, will take place at RDS Simmonscourt in Dublin from Tuesday, 3 November to Thursday, 5 November. Green building is at the heart of this year’s event: the EcoBuild exhibition of green building suppliers will take up almost half the floor space, while a first-time conference entitled Rebuilding Ireland will explore the role that green building and architecture can play in Ireland’s economic recovery.

Rebuilding Ireland conference
Energy minister Eamon Ryan is the patron of Rebuilding Ireland and will speak as part of the event.  Elizabeth Francis, co-founder of renowned Italian architectural practice Mario Cucinella, will speak about sustainable design, while Niels Ulrik Kolfoed of leading engineering consultancy Ebensen Engineers will address the conference on innovation in the field of energy upgrading in Denmark.

Other speakers include sustainable design expert Jay Stuart, renowned green architect Tom Woolley, assistant principal architect at the OPW Ciaran O’Connor, and Construct Ireland editor Jeff Colley. The conference will aim to develop a set of tangible proposals for reviving Ireland’s building sector based around green principles – each speaker will be asked to conclude their papers with action points, and following input from delegates, these will then be collated and submitted to government.

“An unhealthy reliance on construction was a key factor in causing Ireland’s economic collapse,” Jeff Colley said.  “Ironically the construction industry can now be a key player in our recovery, but only if it embraces sustainable principles and aspires to rapidly become a world leader in green building. It’s a huge challenge given our low starting point, but one we can and must rise to.”

Green exhibitors
Many of Ireland’s leading green building and energy companies will exhibit at EcoBuild. For a full list of exhibitors, click here.

This years’s annual Opus architecture and construction awards will also be presented at Plan Expo. Around 30 practices will be awarded this year across eight categories, including architecture and conservation, art in architecture and a lifetime achievement award. “In a rapidly changing construction centre innovation in design and an increasing emphasis on sustainability will set Irish architecture apart from its global competitors,” said Garret Buckley, joint managing director of Expo Events. “Never before has the importance of incorporating eco technology into designs for future domestic and commercial buildings been so important.  In light of recent legislation, this is set to continue as more and more commercial and private schemes embrace greener solutions.”

For information on attending the Rebuilding Ireland conference click here.