A 40-unit multi-award-winning social housing scheme. The first multi-unit development in Ireland to be awarded a gold certification under the Home Performance Index (HPI), a certification system developed by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) to assess quality and sustainability in new residential developments.
This is based on five categories of verifiable indicators and a point scoring system for: environment, economy, health and wellbeing, quality assurance and sustainable location and 35 point-based indicators. This project scored in 9 further innovative indicators, achieving a total of 74%, well above the minimum 70% to obtain gold certification. Convictions of one practice on a single project can help to transform the industry.
Habitability and Comfort
- Terrace houses, duplexes, apartments, with density of over 54 units per hectare.
- Uses a 10-step measure to enhance biodiversity which are achievable in most cases with minimal cost uplift and little or no maintenance uplift.
- Indoor environmental quality being monitored for CO2, relative humidity and internal temperature.
Community and Connectivity
- The development is assessed on the sustainability of the location of housing, based on accessibility measurements relating to public transport, schools and amenities.
- Achieved 87% in sustainable location and 76% in universal design.
Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change
- COADY Architects worked with a list of manufacturers, encouraging them to get independently valid audits of the overall environmental impacts of their products. This enabled 62 products being used, having Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to EN15804 and ISO14025, which included EPDs for precast concrete planks, concrete thermal blocks and PIR insulation, all with higher order embodied carbon emissions.
- Used a national water calculator to achieve a consumption of 79 Litres/person/day with a low flush toilet at 4/2.5 litres flush volumes and 5 litres/minute shower restrictors.
- Enhanced biodiversity for plants and animals using a 10-step plan. This involved assessing and calculating the ecology of the area before and after the development, using IGBC’s ecology calculator, scoring -11.2.
Resource Efficiency and Circularity
- Measurable indicators applied to a range of areas, including not only operational carbon, embodied carbon, biodiversity, density and water use, but also land use, design team skills, contractor team skills, services commissioning and others.
- The 40 units achieved an average energy performance coefficient of between 0.19 and 0.21, representing between 79-81% reductions in calculated energy demand compared to Ireland’s 2005 regulations.
- Post Occupancy Evaluation is being carried out on 11 units to determine actual energy consumption, with occupiers to be informed on further energy saving measures once the analysis is complete in June 2023.
- Used 81% FSC/PEFC – certified timber by volume.
- The 62 products with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and/or Product Environmental Passports (PEPs) provided a more accurate Life Cycle Assessment, which calculated Whole Life Carbon of 1728 kgCO2e/m2 and Embodied Carbon of 718kgCO2e/m2.
- Logged construction waste to input into the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
- Built using block-cavity wall on strip foundations, meeting the minimum building regulations brief from the local authority this demonstrated meeting the RIAI Climate Challenge 2025 using business as usual construction.
Economic Accessibility
- Monthly energy bills estimated at a minimum of $48 USD for one-bedroom unit, to a maximum of $100 USD for a 4-bedroom unit.
Awards and Certifications:
Gold certification under the Home Performance Index (HPI).
Winner of ‘Green Construction and Infrastructure Project Award’ 2023.
Winner of Irish Building And Design (OBDA) Awards 2022 – Public Sector Housing Project Of The Year.
Winner of Irish Construction Industry Awards (ICIA) 2022 – Green Project Of the Year.
Net Zero Construction Awards 2022 Housing Category.
More information:
https://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/ feature/measure-everything
