House Design Online

Designing and building sustainably is often an afterthought or at most a “consideration” for many people. “We would like to have an ecological house but ….” Solar panels for water heating are sometimes given the same consideration as a sun roof in a car, “would be nice”.

Renewable energy technologies and type of building materials need to be part of the design package. If they get relegated to “add on” status, then they no longer become useful and may well just appear as expensive optional extras.

One of the essential considerations when designing a home for yourself is “future-proofing” at design stage. We may, for example like to plan for a time in our life when we are not as agile as we are now so that we have fewer steps and good space at ground level or consider possibility of changes in lifestyle enforced by the global economic downturn, where prehaps a space could be easily converted to a workspace for home office or for childcare.

Similarily our design needs to enable our family home to be more resilient to a time when we will no longer afford be dependent on fossil fuels to meet our energy needs.

Picture yourself and you family, where you will be in a decade or so from now and to consider what you need to include at design stage now.

The Energy Show 2009 Organised by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) will be held at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin

This business to business event is a must for anyone with a professional interest in or responsibility for energy use.

Registration for the Exhibition has now closed. You can register on the day. Entrance is free to the Exhibition on production of trade ID.

Now firmly established as the showcase event for Ireland’s energy sector, this year’s event follows the highly successful format of previous years. A cutting edge technology and trade exhibition with leading Irish and European product and service suppliers will showcase the very latest in energy innovation offering visitors a unique experience in seeking low energy solutions for buildings and the opportunity to engage those experts leading the energy sector both here and abroad. (more…)

House Design Online has launched a new service “Outside the Box TV”. As the page title suggests, we want to suggest ways to think outside the box when it comes to “design” and “architecture”. Many of the homes that we live in are no more than boxes, whose primary function is to contain us, supply us with bedding, water, food processing and sanitation. Of course there are many who lack even these essential elements but our homes, no matter how basic have many other roles which have been neglected in modern architecture.

Out of the Box TV features video clips of innovative green architecture and sustainable building design. The clips are from around the world.

Oustide the Box features Ireland’s first EcoVillage which is under development at Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary as well as some of the work of architects Peter Cowman, Joachim Mitchell and others who are challenging the preceptions of modern architecture.

for more click here OUTSIDE THE BOX

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The crisis in the property business has deflected attention away from, what is the real crisis in housing. That is, that our homes are damaging the environment.

The introduction of building regulations that help to reduce the level of emissions from modern homes will reduce the mpact of our future housing stock.

There is however the issue of, what to do with our existing homes. Take the case of Ireland for example. It is estimated that 930,000 houses were built before the first ever building regulations in 1991, with approximately 1,000,0000 built before the 1996 building regulations. To put that in context: 350,000 houses have no wall insulation, 200,000 houses have no roof insulation and 350,000 houses have just single-glazed windows. (Source DoEHLG, 2002).

It is time, therefore to start thinking ‘retro’ and bring our existing housing stock up to an acceptable standard that achieves higher levels of comfort in our homes and less impact on the environment.

At the “See the Light 2009 conference” in Galway, Ireland, Professor Owen Lewis, CEO of SEI, launched new guidelines for upgrading existing dwellings in Ireland to the PassivHaus Standard.

The new guidelines provide practical advice on the utilisation of construction products, materials and techniques that minimize waste, improve air quality, increase energy efficiency and protect the environment. They also include two Irish case studies in retro-fitting existing houses to the PassivHaus Standard. The document entitles “Retrofitted Passive Houses can be downloaded HERE

The  The Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI ) & the Simon Communities of Ireland have joined forces for a special fundraising initiative called the “RIAI Simon Open Door Day” – whereby participating Architects around Ireland will open their offices on Saturday 7th March 2009, to give members of the public an hour’s consultation with an Architect in return for a €75 donation to Simon.

This is an excellent opportunity to get an hour’s consultation with an architect and assist in the wonderful work of the Simon community in addressing the huge problem of homelessness in Ireland.

In order to arrange a consultation, you need to book before noon on Wednesday, March 4th and the easiest way to do this is to register online by clicking here

From Jaunuary 1st, 2009, all homes sold or rented in Ireland will be required by law to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate.  A BER certificate is something similar to what we see on electrical appliances such as fridges. To see a sample BER certificate CLICK HERE

Listen to a discussion today on Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 between Kevin O’Rourke of Sustainable Energy Ireland and Tom Parlon of the Construction Industry Federation click here

DOWNLOAD BER INFORMATION HERE

Irish Minister for the Environment. Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley T.D.has announced statutory planning guidelines for Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas. These Guidelines will act as a blueprint for the future sustainable development of Irish cities, towns and villages in the coming years.

The guidelines don’t, unfortunately make any provision for the involvement of the local community or the householders in the design process.

The guidelines which are a welcome development stipulate that new developments should:

• Prioritise public transport, cycling and walking, and minimise the need to use cars?
• Ensure accessibility for everyone, including people with disabilities.
• Encourage more efficient use of energy and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Include the right quality and quantity of public open space.
• Include measures to ensure satisfactory standards of personal safety and traffic safety within the neighbourhood.
• Present an attractive and well-maintained appearance.
• Promote social integration and provide for a diverse range of household types, age groups and mix of housing tenures.
• Protect, and where possible enhance, the built and natural heritage.
• Provide for Sustainable Drainage Systems?

TO DOWNLOAD THE NEW GUIDELINE – CLICK HERE

Gene Roddenberry was the guy that brought us in to the future many years ago with the series “Star Trek”…going where no man had gone before…OK, it was Science Fiction, but what a pity that some of those who were fans of the 1970′s show didn’t hold on to a small bit of the imagination and “thinking into the future”, that the show evoked when they got themselves into positions where they could actually influence change. Imagine if Kirk, Spock and buddies made a brief return visit to planet earth. They hover over Dublin, spot the M50 at rush hour, imagining it to be an energy field surrounding the city. Their first reaction is that the city has been taken over by Klingons. Nothing is connected, people are wandering around in a trance, going nowhere. The guys get energized down to the ‘Red Cow’ Roundabout, but there is nothing they can to, They try Portlaoise, Galway, Limerick, Castlebar..but its all the same. (more…)

Anyone interested in finding out more about the concept of the Passive House might be interested in this upcoming event. If you are thinking of building in 2009 and 2010 a visit to Frankfurt in April may well be worth you while, particularly with the availability of cheap flights!

The 13th International Conference on Passive Houses will take place on 17th and 18th April 2009 in Frankfurt in Germany

The  Conference will focus on the following themes:  Public Initiatives and Public Energy-Efficient Buildings, Non-Residential Buildings, Passive Houses – Apartment Blocks,  Innovation from Research and Development: Building Technology and Building Shell,  Assessment of Completed Modernisation Projects,  Comfort and Health, Financing and Marketing and Housing Industry and Sustainability.

Running side by side with the conference will be the 2009 Public Passive House Exhibition
Date: Friday 17th April – Saturday 18th April 2009
Location: Messe Frankfurt, Hall 5.1
Opening hours: 17th April 2009 9 am – 7 pm
18th April 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Exhibition area: 3.000 m²

Beat escalating energy costs! Passive houses allow for more comfort and lower energy demand: Intelligent solutions for old and new buildings will be on show at the 2009 Passive House Exhibition in Frankfurt:

* Building companies, specialist federations, architecture and engineering offices
* Producers of windows, doors, ventilation systems and insulating materials,
* Providers of building parts, whole solutions, house technology systems and solar companies

They present building components and products which reach the top standards for energy-efficient building through high quality and innovative technology.

* Entrance to the exhibition is free for all visitors.
* Conference and exhibition take place directly next to each other in the Messe Frankfurt.
* A support programme of lectures is directed at conference and exhibition visitors. Here exhibitors can present their products and services.

The exhibition is directed at interested building owners and specialist visitors such as architects, building specialists, planners, energy consultants, producers of building products, companies in the building industry, housing industry and energy providers.Field trips, Sunday 19 April 2008

On Sunday 19 April there will be the opportunity to attend one of five different tours to visit Passive Houses (new buildings and refurbishments).
Start: Conference Main Entrance – Messe Frankfurt
Finish: Frankfurt am Main, Hauptbahnhof (central station)

Click her for more information