House Design Online

Sustainable Design with a special focus on the creation of affordable, mortgage-free dwellings

• Venue: Carraig Dulra in Glenealy, Co Wicklow

Course Date:
16 May 2009
Instructor:
Peter Cowman

The workshop will allow students to understand the process involved in creating a sustainable house design. Peter will explain the inspiration behind the development of the Econospace, his design for a low-cost, self-buildable sustainable shelter. Then he will focus on the practical aspects of its construction.
Price: €90.00

For More Information CLICK HERE

Converting your Home for Sustainable Living on a shoestring.

The Ecoshop, Meridian Point, Church Road, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

(Beside SuperValu car park, 2 minutes from DART station & buses)

Course  Will be presented by Architect/Teacher/Writer
Peter Cowman B Arch. Director of The Living Architecture Centre and originator of the ‘Living Architecture’ concept

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

Date: Monday 27th April, 2009

Location: Tipperary Institute, Thurles, North Tipperary

Price: Free but booking essential by Friday 17th of April

Booking:                              Tel. 01 674 5773

More Information CLICK HERE

Organised by Cultivate, Tipperary Institute, The Village, Irish Rural Link and Carnegie Trust

Supported by COMHAR, the National Sustainable Development Council, Dublin City Council, Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Carnegie Trust

Over the last couple of decades policy makers have tended to regard Irish rural communities as dependent on urban centers rather than as drivers for change. This conference brings together stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors to explore how we can work together to build resilience in a future of energy, climate and economic uncertainty.

What are the actions and positive changes we will need to make to enhance the quality of life of our communities? How will we provide livelihoods and strong rural economies? How will communities of the future provide for their food needs? What are the opportunities for sustainable transport and how will we heat and power our communities?

What do we do to engage people to address the ever more complex problems facing us today? All of this will require for us to work purposefully together to build resilience in these challenging times.

10.00 Registration

10.30 Opening

Representative from North Tipperary County Council

Conversation Starters

10.35 Towards Sustainable Rural Communities
Ciaran Lynch – Tipperary Institute

10.45 From Vulnerability to Resilience
Prof. Peader Kirby

10.55 Regional Food
Helen Lawrenson – Falkland Centre for
Stewardship, Scotland

11.05 Rural Transport
Seamus Boland – Irish Rural Link

11.15 Break

11.30 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“Given where we are at, what are you already doing to build resilience in your communities?”

12.00 World Café plenary

13.00 Lunch (not provided)

Conversation Starters

14.00 Entreprise, Livelihoods ands Jobs
Ben Whelan – Cultivate and the Village

14.10 The Power of One Community
Seamus Hoyne – Tipperary Energy Agency, Paul Allen, Centre for Alternative Technology and Zero Carbon Britain

14.30 Planning For Rural Sustainability
Bridget Kirwan and Catherine Corcoran,
Tipperary Institute

14.50 Education and Training for Local Resilience
Davie Philip, Cultivate and the Village, Michael Kenny NUIM

15.10 Break

15.20 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“How do we work together now to build resilience in our communities”

Beyond The Talking Shop

16.20 Making the Transition

Chris Chapman, Change Exploratory and Nick Wilding, Carnegie Trust

The second Renewable Energy Summit will take place in, Croke Park Convention Centre, Dublin between 24-25 March 2009

THE 2020 target for renewable energy has been increased to 40 per cent as part of the government’s strategy for a “green economy”. Taoiseach Brian Cowen said recently that the government’s aim was to deliver a ‘New Green Deal’ that focused on energy efficiency and the investment in clean and renewable technologies.”

“As one of the most fossil-fuel dependent countries in the world, we must prepare for a future when the prices and volatility we have recently witnessed become the norm”he said.
Improving the environment and energy security is one of the five “action areas” in the plan to rejuvenate the economy and attain sustainable growth.

SPEAKERS INCLUDE

Dr Wolfgang Palz, Chairman, World Council For Renewable Energy (WCRE)

Folker Franz, Senior Adviser, Environmental Affairs and Energy

Katrina Polaski, Head of Renewable Energy, Sustainable Energy Ireland

Gerry Wardell, Director, Codema

Lawrence D Staudt

Dr Richard Toll, Economic & Social Research Institute

For more information, or to book a place click RENEWABLE ENERGY SUMMIT 2009

The idea of volunteering to travel abroad to help to build houses for those who are less well off is an excellent way to learn basic building skills and appreciate the most basic need of a home.

There are a number of organisations who offer opportunities to travel abroad (or even at home) and help to build houses.

One such organisation is “Habitat for Humanity” who, since its founding in 1976 have built over 300,000 houses, providing shelter for more than 1 million people in nearly 90 countries around the world. A new Habitat house is completed somewhere in the world every 21 minutes.

The good news is that no construction experience is required! Habitat for Humanity just need energetic enthusiastic folks who are willing to learn and ready to pick up a hammer.

For more information, ring 01-6299660/3 or check out their website

If you want to discover a bit more about Passive Houses, it might be worth visiting the Ecobuild & Futurebuild Conference whis is taking place in Earl’s Court, London from Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th of March 2009.

For more information, please click here

On the first day of Ecobuild (Tuesday 3 March) BRE will be holding a free PassivHaus seminar in the Thames Lounge.

MORNING SESSION: Creating a PassivHaus culture
Chair Gavin Hodgson, PassivHaus UK, Managed by BRE

10:30 Making a case for PassivHaus: lessons for a crisis – Chris Herring, Director, Green Building Store/Chair, AECB
11:00 PassivHaus in the UK – where are we now? – Oliver Child, Senior Consultant, BRE
11:30 Case study: new materials in PassivHaus design – Howard Liddell, Principal, Gaia Architects
12:00 PassivHaus construction and the skills gap – Malcolm Bell, Professor of Surveying & Sustainable Housing, Leeds Metropolitan University
12:30 Close

AFTERNOON SESSION: There’s no haus like PassivHaus
Chair Justin Bere, Bere:Architects

12:45 Case study: the UK’s first completed PassivHaus – Justin Bere, Bere:Architects
13:15 Case study: PassivHaus is for everyone! – Andrew Bissell, Chair, Blue Property
13:45 PassivHaus retrofit – Mark Siddall, Senior Architect, Dewjo’c Architects Ltd
14:15 Learning from the Swedish experience – Henrietta Lynch, Associate, The Good Homes Alliance

The seminar is free to attend and as there is no pre-booking available for the seminar, attendance is on a first-come-first-served basis. The seminar will be held in the Thames Lounge.

For information on the Passive House Seminar click here

The Sustainability Institute based in Westport, Co. Mayo in the West of Ireland is running a number of both short and long courses during 2009, which are worth checking out for anyone planning to build or renovate in a sustainable manner during 2009 or beyond.

One and Two Day Courses Offered in 2009 include:

• Introduction to Low Cost Design and Construction
• DIY Insulation and Draughtproofing
• Basic Domestic Energy Auditing
• Renovation of Stone Cottages
• DIY Solar Thermal
• DIY Off Grid Electrical Systems (Wind and Solar PV)
• Construction Courses and Workshops
• Monglian Ger and Yurt Construction (new)

Longer Courses and Modules:

12 Month Practical Sustainability Course

• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 1
• Practical Low-Cost Design and Build Module 2

Click here for more information

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…)