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Little did we know when campaigning for the Fingal energy standard in 2005-06 that Construct Ireland would have a direct impact on Ikea’s first Irish store. Driven by a combination of Fingal’s requirements and their own renewable energy policy, the Swedish retail giant has invested in the largest ground source heat pump installation in Ireland and the UK, along with a well-thought biomass system fed by an onsite waste stream and a host of other green measures, as John Hearne reports
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Designing a low energy building when you've got unlimited space is one
thing – but what if you need to make your walls thin to maximise space
on a small site in an architectural conservation area? Lenny Antonelli
visited a new St Vincent De Paul sheltered housing project that fit a
lot of sustainable features on to a small plot in Dublin's north inner
city
Architect John-Barry Lowe's goal wasn't exactly simple: design a low energy building on a tight plot in a dense urban area, but make it spacious enough for four people to live comfortably in four separate apartments. It was never going to be an easy task – each apartment was to have just over 20 square metres of floor space.
Lowe designed the building – on Primrose St on the northside of Dublin city – for the St Vincent De Paul Society. The society manages six such houses around Dublin's inner city – all are transitional homes for those making their way from life in homeless hostels, or on the street, to more permanent accommodation. In the past these houses typically had shared bathroom and kitchen facilities, but the society has started the process of converting them into separate self-contained apartments to offer residents more independence and privacy. The house that previously occupied the Primose St site had shared facilities, and the society was keen to convert it.
Lowe was charged with this task. He decided to knock the existing building on the site, a house clad with what he describes as a "horrible brown tile." "It was brutal," he says. Low energy building specialists Viking House set about constructing a new building from scratch, starting with new foundations. Viking House's foundation system is certified by the Passivhaus Institut, and features 300mm of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and precise detailing to prevent cold bridging between the foundation and the wall. It boasts a formidable U-value of 0.1 W/m2K.
The new timber-frame building boasts impressive thermal performance despite thin walls being required on the tight plot. The brick finish is one of the building’s crowning achievements, fitting comfortably in the surroundings of Dublin's north inner city
Inside, the house is divided into four separate units – two up and two down, each designed for one resident. All are at least dual aspect – three are triple aspect – and all are designed to make the most efficient use of space possible. Though each has a floor area of just 20 square metres, the apartments feel much larger, and are easily comfortable enough for one person to live in.
Unable to use a thicker build because of the site's constraints, Viking House specified a timber frame system – manufactured in Thurles by TMB Timber Frame and completed by MBC Timber Frame when TMB sadly fell victim to the downturn – of about 200mm. From the inside out the build-up includes plasterboard, 37mm of cross battening with Rockwool insulation, taped USB board, a 140mm stud with Rockwool insulation, 9mm of Panelvent, a Tyvek membrane, and then a 50mm cavity. Lowe specified a brick finish for the front and sides of the build, with concrete block to the rear. The build-up has a U-value of 0.23 W/m2K. While this isn't ground-breaking – the building regulations demand a U-value of 0.27 W/m2K at worst – it’s quite impressive considering the slender build.
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Issue 1, Vol 5 Out Now
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