Irish Construction News January February 2024

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Sisk delivers Cork’s €215m Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade

The Copenhagen Cloudburst Flood Management Plan 1

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11 NEWS

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Housing output exceeds Housing for All delivery target for 2023 Over 20,000 housing units locked in SHD due to An Bord Pleanála logjam Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to speak at the National Construction Summit 2024 Government approves €2.5bn funding package for the Land Development Agency DLRCC and Tuath deliver 24 new cost-rental homes in the first phase of the Kilternan Wood development HBFI grew its total loan approvals to €1.66bn by the end of 2023 BIM mandate introduced for consultants engaged on government contracts over €100m Kingspan’s 2023 revenues dropped, but after-tax profits were up 6% Jacobs to provide strategic planning and advisory services to Ireland’s National Transport Authority Sisk toy story celebrates 50 years of apprentice skills Guaranteed Irish Business Awards 2024 includes several innovative Irish construction sector businesses

APPOINTMENTS

20 INTERVIEW

18 Suir Engineering appoints Brendan Moley as chief operations officer 18 Sisk appoints John Hennessey as regional director of its data centres division 19 Cairn appoints Richard Ball as chief financial officer 19 PJ Hegarty announces three key internal promotions to strengthen its leadership team

INTERVIEW

20 Copenhagen addresses climate change impacts by working with - not against – floodwater - Neil Mclean Goring, Lead Designer, Ramboll 26 Innovation remains a core pillar of Kingspan Insulation’s strategy - Niall O’Connor, Managing Director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland

PROJECTS

31 €215m Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade will enhance connectivity in Cork 32 Vision Contracting breaking sustainability barriers - Premier Inn, Gloucester Street South, Dublin 38 Sustainability at Premier Inn Gloucester Street South

31 PROJECTS

SECTOR FOCUS

42 Construct Innovate delivers nearly €1m in seed funding for construction research in its first year

SUSTAINABILITY

44 Free sustainability training platform launched for the Irish construction industry 46 The Irish Green Building Council: What lies ahead in 2024 48 EU agreement reached on changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 50 EuroACE EU industry association welcomes EU EPBD agreement but is disappointed by its lack of ambition

44 SUSTAINABILITY

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 52 All the latest products and services news

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E D I TO R I A L

PUBLISHER Foundation Media Ltd 1 Northumberland Place, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Tel: +353 (0)1 677 3157 EDITOR Robbie Cousins robbie@foundationmedia.ie DESIGN Joanne Birmingham CONTRIBUTORS Colm McHugh, Irene Rondini PRINTER WG Baird Ltd ADVERTISING SALES Joe Connolly joe@foundationmedai.ie Tel: +353 (0)86 396 6158 ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES To advertise in Irish Construction News or on www.constructionnews.ie, or to request a ratecard or details of promotional opportunities, contact Joe Connolly at joe@foundationmedia.ie CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @constructionnews.ie Linkedin: Constructionnews.ie Facebook: Constructionnews.ie SIGN UP FOR OUR E-NEWSLETTER To get the latest news, articles and offers related to the Irish construction industry to your inbox sign up to our free e-newsletter at www.constructionnews.ie While every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct, the publisher cannot not accept responsibility for any errors, omissions or discrepancies. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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From the editor A t over 700 pages, the Planning and Development Bill 2023 is being hailed by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien as “the cornerstone for Irish planning in the coming decades.”

Published in January 2023, the draft legislation has undergone extensive examination within the Oireachtas and involved collaboration with various stakeholders. The Bill is intended to modernise the existing Act, which has been in operation since 2000. It has now undergone what is described as a ‘complete fitness check’ to identify reforms to deliver critical infrastructure in housing, transport and renewable energy.

As discussions around the final version of the Bill intensify, focus has turned to the large number of potential amendments 1,194 in total – to the 700-page document.

Reforms proposed include enhancing consistency and alignment across all planning tiers, restructuring and augmenting resources for An Bord Pleanála, which is being renamed An Coimisiún Pleanála, and introducing statutory decision-making timelines. It also includes the introduction of strategic 10-year development plans for local authorities.

Furthermore, the Bill seeks to overhaul the planning judicial review process by introducing a Scale of Fees and Environmental Legal Cost Financial Assistance mechanism. These reforms aim to enhance access to justice and to regulate excessive legal costs.

However, some developers and environmental groups want to maintain the status quo. But, having put so much work in, the government looks intent on proceeding with the proposed reforms, given the considerable resources invested in the landmark legislation.

In this issue of Irish Construction News, we interview Neil Goring McClean, Chief Consultant. International Water and Climate Resilience, Ramboll, and part of the Danish engineering firm’s team that helped design

Copenhagen’s innovative and sustainable flood management system, the Cloudburst Management Plan.

Niall O’Connor, Managing Director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland, discusses the manufacturer’s approach to delivering sustainable insulation solutions and how it works with industry stakeholders to reduce the embodied carbon in our building stock.

Adrian Joyce, Secretary General of leading European materials producers agency EuroACE, discusses the impacts of amendments to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, why it is urgent that the sector gets on board quickly with the changes and that there is a rapid transposition of the directive at memberstate level.

Colm McHugh of Construct Innovate reflects on an exciting first year for Construct Innovate and sets out the research Ireland’s construction technology centre is undertaking in 2024.

This is a key year for the sector to reduce its carbon emissions. The IGBC’s Irene Rondini outlines vital programmes the body will progress in 2024.

Vision Contracting, working with architects DTA, has delivered a Premier Inn A2-BER-certified hotel in the centre of Dublin, designed and built to perform to the highest sustainability standards.

Elsewhere, we have all the latest construction and engineering news and analysis Please take a moment to scan the QR code below and sign up for our free e-newsletter.

And, if there are any issues or stories you would like to see featured in Irish Construction News, email me at robbie@foundationmedia.ie Regards Robbie Cousins Scan to subscribe to free e-newsletter

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NEWS

Housing output exceeds Housing for All delivery target for 2023

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he government’s 2023 Housing for All completions target was 29,000 units.

However, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reports 32,695 new dwellings built in 2023, with construction data specialists Construction Information Services (CIS) putting the completion figure at a more conservative 29,890 units.

CENTRAL STATISTICS OFFICE HOUSING FIGURES

Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicates that 32,695 new dwellings were completed in 2023, an increase of 10% on the number of homes built in 2022.

The CSO, which uses new connections to the electricity network as the basis for statistics on new dwelling completions, reports that there were 15,505 scheme dwelling completions in 2023 (up 2.4%), 11,642 apartment unit completions (up 28%), and 5,548 single dwellings completions (up 0.9%), resulting in 47.4% of completions being scheme dwellings; 35.6%, apartments; and 17%, single dwellings.

Close to six in 10 completions in Q4 2023 and the full year were in Dublin or Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow. Of all completions in Dublin, some 71.9% were apartments.

By local electoral area, the most completions in 2023 were in GlencullenSandyford, while the most in Q4 2023 were in the south west inner city of Dublin.

There was a slight rise of 2.3% in seasonally adjusted new dwelling completions from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023.

Commenting on the CSO data, Steven Conroy, Statistician, CSO, said: “The number of new dwelling completions in 2023 was

32,695, an increase of 10% from 2022. In October, November, and December (Q4) 2023, there were 10,289 completions, a rise of 13.0% from the same quarter in 2022.

“The number of scheme dwellings completed also rose by 2.4% to 15,505 in 2023, and there was a growth of 0.9% in single dwellings to 5,548 in 2023. Of all the completions in 2023, 47.4% were scheme dwellings, 35.6% were apartments, and 17.0% were single dwellings. Data analysis shows that the proportion of apartments being built has been rising over recent years from 16.4% of completions in 2019 to 35.6% in 2023.

“In Q4 2023, there was a 1.5% fall in scheme dwellings completions and a 1.8% decrease in single dwellings completions from Q4 2022, while there was a 46.5% rise in apartments.”

CIS FIGURES

CIS reports that 29,890 housing units were completed in 2023, which it says is an increase of 15% on the previous year, with the overall figure split between just over 25,000 units within scheme housing and apartment developments across nearly 1,000 sites and with 4,855 single dwellings built.

CIS draws its data directly from the National Building Control Office’s Building Control Management System (BCMS,) which records details of the commencement and completion of building works in Ireland.

CIS research manager Scott Delaney, commenting on the figures, said: “The BCMS figures we collate are painstakingly recorded by our research team from individual completion transactions published. In many cases, we manually count

the number of units in each phase or revert to the original planning documents to see the number of units granted in apartment blocks. These figures are checked rigorously, and I’m fully confident in the veracity of our data based on the BCMS register.”

CIS reports that the year started slowly, with just shy of 900 units completed in January and a peak of just over 4,000 units completed in September. The first quarter of the year saw 4,800 units completed. The second and third quarters saw 6,800 and 8,900 units completed, respectively, and the final quarter of 2023 saw a strong finish, with 9,300 units completed.

As expected, CIS reports Dublin saw the highest level of delivery with over 11.700 units completed, while the border counties region, Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan, witnessed just over 1,000 units completed in 2023. The commuter belt counties outside of the capital saw the second-highest level of delivery, with almost 6,500 units completed in Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow.

RESIDENTIAL COMMENCEMENTS IN 2023 To aid in alleviating the high demand for new housing in the country, CIS reports that 32,989 new housing units were recorded as commencing on site throughout 2023, up 17% on the previous year.

One of the largest developments to start on site in late 2023 was the €400m redevelopment of O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin 7, which, upon completion, will see over 1,000 units delivered by developer Bartra. When complete, 50% of the A-rated homes will be delivered to Dublin City Council for social and affordable housing.

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NEWS

Over 20,000 housing units locked in SHD due to An Bord Pleanála logjam Mitchell McDermott believes housing output this year will be about 33,000 units, but it will take until the end of the decade before Ireland reaches 50,000 units annually.

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he Mitchell McDermott Annual Construction Report 2024 states that planning decisions on 20,683 houses and apartments are up to a year and a half late due to a logjam at An Bord Pleanála (ABP ), while another 8,139 units are being held up in judicial reviews. Combined, the 28,822 units comprise almost a current year’s housing output. Decisions on the 20,683 units in Strategic Housing Developments (SHDs) are now overdue by an average of 16 months.

Paul Mitchell, one of the report’s authors, said it was unacceptable that many SHD developments are being left in limbo in the middle of a housing crisis.

He comments: “We highlighted this issue at ABP previously and urged them to take on more planners, but the situation has not been addressed in any meaningful way. We are told increasing the supply of housing is the number one priority, but that doesn’t appear to be the case when you see delays of this magnitude in what is supposed to be a fast-track planning system. As well as undermining confidence and creating uncertainty around so many developments, these delays also come with a cost.”

LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS

in stark contrast to SHDs, Mitchell McDermott says 98% of Large-Scale Residential Developments (LRDs) have been decided on time, and there were no outstanding judicial reviews for them at the end of 2023.

Paul Mitchell explains that the very different outcomes for LRDs provide some grounds for optimism. “The LRD process is a mix of the older standard planning application and SHD processes. We believe some lessons have been learned from the former, while the perceived lack of public participation in the SHD process has been addressed in the LRD process. But it all comes back to resources, and ABP needs more planners.”

CONSTRUCTION INFLATION FALLS TO 2%

The report states general construction inflation fell to just 2% last year, down from 12% in 2022.

Paul Mitchell says: “The stabilisation we are seeing in the prices of building materials is most welcome after a couple of years of dramatic price increases

Paul Mitchell, Director, Mitchell McDermott. due to Covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Notable decreases in timber, steel reinforcement and bricks have been countered by upward pressure on ready mix concrete, blocks, mechanical and electrical, materials and labour.”

VITAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS

Of over 20 incentive schemes available for homeowners, renters and developers, the report identified Project Tosaigh (LDA), Partnerships and Croí Cónaithe as most effective in improving supply. On the affordability side, Cost Rental, First Home and Help to Buy were seen as having the most significant impact.

Mitchell says that when foreign investment dried up due to rising interest rates, the government played a crucial role in purchasing and now forward-funding thousands of units. However, he warns that this level of support wasn’t sustainable in the long term.

“Last year, we saw lots of projects stall as private foreign investment exited the market. We estimate that 10,000 to 15,000 units would not have gone ahead if they had not been taken on by the LDA, local authorities and various approved housing bodies (AHBs).”

THE FUTURE

Mitchell McDermott expects housing output for 2024 to be about 33,000 units, but it will take until the end of the decade before Ireland reaches 50,000 units per

annum. Paul Mitchell believes that after addressing planning logjams and plugging the finance gap, the third element that needs to be addressed is the lack of capacity in the market. “There are currently 168,000 people working in construction. To go from 30,000 residential units to 50,000 pa, we will need 50,000 more workers. We need carpenters, plumbers, electricians, glazing installers and many more. We need to train more people, including young migrants, and we need to incentivise those with the required skills who are working abroad to return home.

“Housing them will be an issue and will require imaginative solutions such as an ‘Airbnb for Builders’, construction hubs, the wider promotion of the Rent a Room scheme and perhaps even dedicated construction worker hotels or hostels, but until we make a start, the problem is only going to get worse. We believe increasing the number of construction workers by 5,000 per annum is a realistic target,” he concludes.

To access the latest Mitchell McDermott data and take a deep dive look at construction trends across the industry, visit https:// mitchellmcdermott. com/infocards/ or scan the QR code

irish construction news 7 January/February 2024

GRANT

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Grant’s diverse heating solutions are transforming new build projects throughout Ireland

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or over four decades Grant’s innovative heating technologies have become key features in many home heating systems across Ireland. As a result of the inclusivity of Grant’s heating technologies, builders and developers throughout the country rely on Grant to provide the most efficient heating solutions for new build projects of all sizes.

In addition to high efficiency, the manufacturer’s heating technologies are helping to reduce carbon emissions and achieve building energy compliance, whilst contributing towards a greener future.

Whether a one-off dwelling or housing development, Grant’s technical specialists are working closely with those in the construction trade to ensure that the best suited heating solution is sized and specified for every new build project.

Barry Gorman, National Renewable Sales Manager outlines two of Grant’s most popular heating technologies, which when paired together enhance efficiency in new builds.

GRANT AERONA3 AIR TO WATER, AIR SOURCE HEAT PUMP

In most cases the Grant Aerona 3 R32 air to water air source heat pump is the main heat source of choice for a new build property or development. With an ErP rating of A+++ and a SCOP of up to 5.4:1, the Aerona 3 heat pump range is available in outputs of 6kW, 10kW, 13kW and 17kW. Offering cleaner, more environmentally friendly performance, the Aerona 3 heat pump ensures required compliance is met in line with Part L of the building regulations. The 13kW and 17kW models are also recognised for their quiet operation by the internationally acclaimed Quiet Mark.

The Aerona 3 heat pump is easily installed and works seamlessly with other Grant heating technologies to create a fully integrated heating solution. This full solution can be designed by Grant’s technical specialists free of charge to ensure all technologies are correctly sized and specified to maximise efficiency. Grant also commissions each heat pump at no extra cost.

GRANT UFLEX UNDERFLOOR HEATING

Grant’s Uflex underfloor heating system continues to be the heat emitter of choice amongst those building modern, new homes, due to its suitability for a wide range of projects, from one-off new build projects and room extensions through to larger multiproperty developments.

The Grant Uflex underfloor heating system is a popular and

8 irish construction news January/February 2024

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versatile choice of heat emitter that works effectively with both high and low temperature systems, meaning it has the ability to work seamlessly alongside the Grant Aerona³ R32 air to water air source heat pump. This has led to the two heating technologies becoming a popular duo within new build homes throughout Ireland.

The Uflex underfloor system can be fitted as part of the floor construction process, therefore causing no delays in construction, making this technology that bit more attractive to those working on new build homes.

In recent years, Grant has largely transformed to a renewable heating company with its portfolio including ranges of air to water air source heat pumps, HVO biofuel ready condensing boilers, condensing wood pellet boilers, solar thermal panels, underfloor heating, hot water cylinders, aluminium radiators and smart controls.

To avail of Grant’s Integrated Heating Solutions send house plans to heatpump@grant.ie and for more information on Grant’s innovative heating technologies visit www.grant.ie.

Follow Grant on Facebook and Twitter @ GrantIRL, Instagram @grant_irl, or LinkedIn @ GrantEngineeringULC Think Heating. Think Grant.

Our complete integrated heating packages provide everything needed to build a highly efficient, warm and comfortable home.

Tailored to suit the homeowners’requirements, each Grant heating package is correctly sized and specified, free of charge, to achieve compliance, maximise efficiencies and provide long-term savings.

Packages feature the Grant Aerona3 air to water, air source heat pump, Grant hot water cylinders, Grant Afinia aluminium radiators and the Grant Uflex underfloor heating system. Smart controls are also available.

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Join your industry peers for a engaging and thought provoking event which will stimulate debate on how Ireland can rebuild its construction and property industry in a sustainable manner to meet the real needs of Ireland and create a stable long term future of the industry and the country.

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NEWS

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to speak at National Construction Summit –18t April 2024 - Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, Dublin Darragh O’Brien TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, will speak at the 2024 National Construction Summit, which is being held on 18 April next at the Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown, in Dublin.

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ncorporating a comprehensive conference programme, including a wide array of seminars and free workshops, the National Construction Summit will also feature an extensive exhibition area showcasing the latest products, services and technology for the construction, engineering, sustainable building, maintenance and architectural sectors.

Key Conference themes at the 2024 National Construction Summit include Jobs, Skills, Training and Education; Infrastructural Investment; Public & Private Housing; Finance; Building Materials & Services Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Project Ireland 2040, the Housing For All Plan; Smart Design for Off-site Construction; Construction 4.0; Green Technology; and Sustainability.

IRISH CONSTRUCTION GROWTH

Construction output in Ireland is forecast to grow by 3.2% in 2023 and 4.4% in 2024, according to Euroconstruct, an independent construction market forecasting network active in 19 European countries. This is in contrast to output declines in construction across Europe.

Euroconstruct expects the level of new housing completions in Ireland to meet or exceed national targets, with completions estimated at 31,000 in 2023 and 33,450 in 2024. Ireland is the only country forecast to see strong growth next year, up 7.9% during this period. The civil engineering sector in Ireland is forecast to grow by 2.4% in 2023 and 5.3% in 2024, while the non-residential sector will grow by 2.9% and 2.6% over the same two-year period.

HOUSING SUPPLY

Housing for all is the government’s housing policy to 2030. A multi-annual, multi-billion euro plan, it is designed to improve Ireland’s housing system and deliver more homes of all types for people with different housing needs. It has a built-in annual review mechanism to respond to progress made in implementing the plan, to challenges in implementation, and changes in the external environment.

However, although housing supply has been increasing, the continuing increase in house prices and rents indicates that demand for housing is still growing at a faster pace than supply.

Darragh O’Brien TD was appointed Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in June 2020. He is a Fianna Fail TD for the Dublin-Fingal constituency. Prior to his election to the 30th Dáil in 2007, Darragh O’Brien worked mainly in financial services and was elected to Fingal County Council in 2004. He was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2011.

Minister O’Brien’s comments on housing will no doubt be eagerly awaited by attendees at the National Construction Summit.

NEW HOUSING GUIDELINES

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage recently published the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, which are aimed at creating more attractive, liveable, well-designed, high-quality urban places. The guidelines are also intended to provide a broader range of housing options to meet the needs of a growing population.

Welcoming the publication of the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, Darragh O’Brien TD commented: “They are timely, particularly in light of the government’s overall objective to increase housing supply as set out under Housing for All and expand on the higher-level policies of the National Planning Framework (NPF) in relation to the creation of settlements that are compact, attractive, liveable and well designed. While progress continues to be made on housing delivery, the greater flexibility offered by these guidelines will help in achieving our aim of providing a broader range of housing options to meet the needs of a growing and more diverse population.”

CHALLENGES

The construction sector is a vital component of the Irish economy, providing the necessary infrastructure required to sustain Ireland’s economic growth and competitiveness and to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). According to a recent EY Economic Advisory report, the value of Irish construction output is projected to reach €35.2 billion in 2024.

Although the Irish construction industry is undergoing a steady recovery following subdued activity in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it faces significant challenges, such as rising materials costs, skills shortages and difficulties in planning and public sector procurement.

INNOVATION

In order to design and construct the sustainable buildings and infrastructure required by a growing population and to help businesses adapt to the challenges of the unfolding fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), the construction industry throughout Ireland needs to rapidly adopt innovative technologies and techniques. However, there is concern that the industry is not evolving fast enough to meet these changing needs.

To learn more or book your tickets for the National Construction Summit 2024, visit www.nationalconstructionsummit.ie/

irish construction news 11 January/February 2024

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NEWS

Government approves €2.5bn funding package for the Land Development Agency

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he government has approved an additional funding package of up to €2.5bn for the Land Development Agency (LDA). This announcement doubles the agency’s capitalisation to support constructing thousands of homes on stateowned land.

Housing minister Darragh O’Brien welcomed the announcement, saying: “Under the LDA’s Business Plan 2024 – 2028, the agency will provide 12,900, primarily affordable cost rental homes over the lifetime of the plan. This is a significant contribution to our overall objectives within Housing for All. “This emphasis on delivering social and affordable housing means that there has been a significant change in the scale and remit of the LDA – limiting the agency’s ability to access private debt finance and use revenue from private housing developed to subsidise other elements of its portfolio.”

In December, the LDA announced that it had started work on the development of almost 220 affordable and social homes at the former Devoy Barracks in Naas, Co

John Coleman, CEO, LDA. Kildare and completed the purchase of lands in Clongriffin in north Dublin with planning

permission for over 1,800 homes and the potential to deliver a total of over 2,300 affordable and social units.

LDA CEO John Coleman commented: “The LDA welcomes the government’s decision to substantially increase its funding.

The extra funding will ensure that the LDA is in a position to make commitments of up to €5bn, which should enable it to continue to deliver significant amounts of affordable and social housing through to 2025.

“The LDA is currently in the process of delivering over 10,000 direct delivery homes on state-owned land or land purchased by the agency. It is also on target to deliver a further 5,000 Project Tosaigh homes by 2026. We have advanced plans to further increase this level of activity, which requires significant levels of capital investment. Given today’s decision, it is projected that the agency will become one of Ireland’s main housebuilders, public or private, over the term of its current five-year business plan (2023 to 2028), with significant levels of delivery having already commenced.”

DLRCC and Tuath deliver 24 new cost-rental homes in the first phase of Kilternan Wood development

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llr Denis O’Callaghan, Cathaoirleach, Dún LaoghaireRathdown County Council (DLRCC), welcomed Minister for Housing, Local Government & Heritage, Darragh O’Brien to Kilternan Wood, Enniskerry Road, for the official opening of the first phase of new cost-rental homes delivered on site.

In collaboration with DLRCC, Tuath Housing has delivered 24 new cost-

rental homes as part of the initial phase of development. A total of 72 cost-rental homes are planned for the site, comprising 63 two-bed apartments and nine three-bed apartments.

At the opening, Councillor O’Callaghan said: “Today, I am delighted to announce the completion of the first phase of housing at Kiltiernan, a development that will provide much-needed homes for our citizens.

Kilternan is a vibrant community, and I am

Cllr Denis O’Callaghan, Cathaoirleach, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC), welcoming Minister for Housing, Local Government & Heritage Darragh O’Brien to Kilternan Wood.

sure these modern, affordable homes will further add to the area.”

The average rental cost for a two-bed home in the Kilternan area is currently €2,400 per month, rising to €3,200 per month for a three-bed. In contrast, the new A-rated, cost-rental homes will be offered at significantly reduced rates, with rents set at €1,425 for a two-bed and €1,550 for a threebed home.

The wider Kilternan Wood development will comprise 203 homes and contain a mix of private-owned, private rental, social and cost-rental housing. In addition to the cost-rental homes, Tuath has also delivered a further 22 social homes, and DLRCC has delivered five social homes via Part V Agreement on the same site, and these will be allocated to people from the DLRCC housing waiting list upon completion.

Minister O’Brien commented: “This is a fantastic example of a mixed development site, and under Housing for All, we are focused on there being many more such developments. Cost rental is taking hold across the country, and in November alone, I approved funding for 1,600 new cost-rental homes. Partners like Tuath and DLRCC are key to our expansion of cost rental, and I really want to commend them for progressing this project”, he concluded.

irish construction news 13 January/February 2024

NEWS

HBFI grew its total loan approvals to €1.66bn by the end of 2023

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ccording to its 2023 performance update, Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) grew total loan approvals to €1.66bn by the end of December 2023, an increase of 33% on the €1.25bn at the end of 2022.

The update shows demand for HBFI funding remained strong throughout 2023, with total new loan approvals of €408m over the year. HBFI’s pipeline of potential new developments is positive moving into 2024.

By the end of December 2023, HBFI had approved funding for 8,495 new homes in 129 developments across 22 counties.

The update states that HBFI has exceeded the five-year target set by the government at its inception in 2019, approving funding for 8,495 homes over that period versus a target of 7,500. HBFI is now in a position where it recycles capital from completed developments to new developments, ensuring it has sufficient funding available.

Of the €1.66bn approved, drawdowns have taken place in respect of facilities totalling €1.2bn (68%) for 86 developments supporting 6,499 homes where construction is in progress or has been completed. HBFI typically expects a time lag of three to six months between a loan being approved and

Dara Deering, Chief Executive, Home Building Finance Ireland.

its first drawdown.

Individual loan facilities range from €1m to €108m, with an average size of €13m.

These facilities are for an average term of 22 months.

Commenting on the update, Dara Deering, Chief Executive, HBFI, said: “We’ve funded significant quantities of new homes for owner-occupiers, renters and people who need social or affordable housing. Over our five years in business, we’ve evolved to quickly address emerging gaps in the funding market. We’ve also rolled out tailored, flexible, and competitive products to suit small, medium, and large housebuilders, and we can now fund developments of any size from five units upwards.”

Minister for Finance Michael McGrath commented: “HBFI was established in 2019 as a targeted government initiative to address a shortfall of finance available for the construction of residential housing. Through its broad product range and agile business model, HBFI has responded to emerging funding gaps in the market and plays an important role in the government’s strategy to increase the supply of new homes of all tenure types across all areas of the country.”

BIM mandate introduced for consultants engaged on government contracts over €100m

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uilding information modelling (BIM) has the potential to transform the design, construction and operation of public works projects over the coming years.

As of January 2024, the government has started the process of mandating BIM for all public construction projects through the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF).

The first steps of this process mandated that from January 2024, consultants engaged in designing and overseeing the construction of public works contracts with a value over €100m have BIM requirements included in their scope of service.

Over a four-year timeline, these requirements will be extended to include the engagement of consultants and contractors down to PROJECT CATEGORY VALUE MILESTONES >€100m Milestone 1 – Design Team only >€100m Milestone 2 – Contractor and Supply Chain >€20m Milestone 3 – Design Team only >€20m Milestone 4 – Contractor and Supply Chain >€10m Milestone 5 – Design Team only >€10m Milestone 6 – Contractor and Supply Chain >€5m Milestone 7 – Design Team only >€5m Milestone 8 – Contractor and Supply Chain >€1m Milestone 9 – Design Team only >€1m Milestone 10 – Contractor and Supply Chain <€1m Milestone 11 – Design Team only <€1m Milestone 12 – Contractor and Supply Chain

14 irish construction news January/February 2024

projects with a value of less than €1m. At that point, all public works projects will have BIM requirements incorporated.

The BIM adoption strategy will utilise the buying power of the public sector, which represents at least 25% of construction activity, to incorporate digital delivery requirements as part of the overall government strategy to digitalise the construction sector by 2030.

The OGP, in conjunction with the Government Contracts Committee for Construction, will monitor the uptake of BIM across public bodies required to use the CWMF. The timeline for BIM adoption will be subject to review, but the following key dates are included in the four-year adoption timeline.

MONTH Month 0 Month 12 Month 12 Month 18 Month 18 Month 24 Month 30 Month 36 Month 36 Month 42 Month 42 Month 48

NEWS

Kingspan’s 2023 revenues dropped but after-tax profits were up 6%

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ingspan has announced increased profits for the fiscal year ending in December 2023, with the company noting a slight decline in annual revenues, which it attributes to deflationary pressures.

Based in Co Cavan, Kingspan announced its profit after tax saw a 6% rise to €654m, compared to €616m in 2022. Its revenues experienced a 3% dip, totalling €8.091bn as opposed to €8.341bn.

Throughout the year, Kingspan spent €248.4m on acquisitions.

In April, it acquired 100% of CaPlast for €86.9m. Additionally, the company made several smaller acquisitions, totalling €139.3m, which included Alaço in Portugal, LRM in France, 51% of MontFrio in Uruguay, and Toode Group in the Baltics.

Further expansion occurred in June, with Kingspan’s Insulation division purchased 80% of the share capital of HempFlax Building Solutions in Germany and 100% of Thor Building Products in Australia. In September, the Data + Flooring division acquired 70% of Q-nis Ventilation Systems in Ireland, and in November, it acquired 100% of Provan Group in Belgium.

Kingspan has also just finalised a deal to acquire the stone-wool insulation business and assets of Karl Bachl Kunststoffverarbeitung (Bachl), headquartered in Germany. The transaction, anticipated to conclude by March’s end, will be funded through existing cash reserves.

Kingspan attributed a drop of 8% in insulation sales to sluggish residential markets and price deflation led by inputs. Its technical insulation segment showed promising growth. It reports robust momentum in its Roofing + Waterproofing Division, achieving revenues of €500m. Its Light, Air + Water Division is expanding scale and improving margins year over year. It highlights a promising medium-term pipeline in its data and flooring products, driven by

Gene Murtagh, CEO, Kingspan. growing demand for data and artificial intelligence applications.

Gene Murtagh, CEO, Kingspan, emphasises the company’s ability to deliver another year of record profits and cash generation despite variations in markets and geographies while continuing to innovate and diversify its revenue base.

“Through our Planet Passionate initiative, we are well progressed in meeting our net zero ambitions by 2030, or sooner,” Murtagh said.

“Beyond insulation, each of our climate-focused business units across Roofing + Waterproofing, Light, Air + Water and Data + Flooring are scaling at pace with every potential for each to exceed €1bn divisional revenue over the coming years.”

Jacobs to provide strategic planning and advisory services to Ireland’s National Transport Authority

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acobs has been awarded a contract to provide strategic planning and advisory services to Ireland’s National Transport Authority (NTA) as it develops and implements high-quality, sustainable, accessible transport infrastructure and services across the nation.

The NTA has re-appointed Jacobs to provide strategic support with the development of transport strategies, urban centres, local transport and other area-based development plans. Jacobs will also support with policy and guidance, as well as general town planning matters. The appointment builds upon Jacobs’ long-standing relationship with the NTA providing vital strategic transport plans and studies. The NTA estimates the new contract duration to be approximately three to four years.

Commenting on the reappointment, Kate Kenny, Senior Vice President, Jacobs, said: “We’re harnessing our strategic advisory and digital capabilities to drive innovation and help clients like the NTA create intelligent, responsive and efficient

Kate Kenny, Senior Vice President, Jacobs.

transportation systems tailored to users’ needs. Our continued collaboration with the NTA reflects our shared commitment to shaping a future where sustainable, accessible transportation connects people and communities to opportunities.”

Jacobs has over 1,200 employees in Ireland serving clients in sectors - most notably advanced manufacturing, cities & places including transport planning, energy and power, environment and other infrastructure. Projects include the NTA’s BusConnects Dublin and BusConnects Cork programmes, bus service planning across Ireland, the NTA’s Modelling Support Services and Cork County Council’s M28 Motorway project.

Jacobs also supports Irish Rail’s East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects programme - the largest coastal protection scheme in north-western Europe, the WuXi Biologics Drug Substance Manufacturing Facility and Edwards Lifesciences Greenfield Manufacturing Facility.

irish construction news 15 January/February 2024

Collen is an 8th-generation, family-owned business delivering construction projects across Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany

Head Office: +353 1 8745411

16 irish construction news January/February 2024

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www.collen.com

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construction@collen.com

NEWS

Sisk toy story celebrates 50 years of apprentice skills

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ohn Sisk & Son Sisk carpentry and joinery apprentices at its Dublin training centre celebrated 50 years of its toy-making tradition that saw 800 handcrafted toys delivered to children’s charities and hospitals across Ireland, the UK, and Europe in time for Christmas.

The Sisk toy story is part of a long-standing tradition started by John G Sisk at its Naas Road workshop, with an estimated 20,000 handmade toys produced by its apprentices over the past 50 years.

The construction industry is embracing new ways of working.

Sustainability and digital tools are now fundamental to Sisk and its toy-making tradition. Last year, the Sisk team made a conscious effort to make more wooden-based retro toys, including rocking horses, trucks and art stations.

These were handcrafted using 70% recycled wooden materials from timber off-cuts received from Sisk construction sites nationwide. Some of the timber materials included medium-density fibreboard (MDF), with much of this coming from disused site hoarding and signage.

Traditionally, the team sources ideas from books and feedback from the charities that have received toys in the past. Digital construction has now modernised its toy-making approach, with all of the toys being designed using digital tools with its apprentices now having the skillset and capability to create the toys. A CAD programme was utilised, significantly reducing the time needed to

Sisk joinery apprentices Jamie Waters and Sarah Rafferty with Molly Quigley, aged 7, at the Children’s Heart Centre, Children’s Health Ireland, Crumlin. design the toys.

One-third of the toys were delivered to Sisk construction sites to donate to local charities, and the following two-thirds were delivered by its apprentices to children’s charities and hospitals throughout Ireland.

Ronan Murphy, Sisk Joinery and Training Manager said, “Our toy story is culturally engrained into the business and is a testament to the family culture within Sisk. It gives perspective to our apprentices and is a real eye-opener for our new younger trainees who come back from children’s hospital visits with a real sense of appreciation.”

Guaranteed Irish Business Awards 2024 includes several innovative Irish construction sector businesses

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uaranteed Irish has announced the finalists of the Guaranteed Irish Business Awards 2024, sponsored by PTSB. The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, 21 March, at the RDS, with a number of construction industry firms up for awards. The awards celebrate Ireland’s leading businesses that support jobs, are committed to local communities and contribute to Ireland, its people, and its economy, recognising and rewarding the success and resilience of homegrown and multinational businesses across various sector categories.

Brid O’Connell, CEO, Guaranteed Irish, commented: “2024 is a little more special for Guaranteed Irish winners as we celebrate our 50th anniversary. The calibre of entries for this year’s awards was remarkable in terms of quality and numbers. We received an increase of 70% in entries.

“We look forward to celebrating the incredible contribution Guaranteed Irish businesses make to Ireland and international markets, with the continued support of proud title sponsor of the Awards, PTSB, for a third consecutive year. Congratulations to all of our finalists.”

Speaking to the announcement, Patrick Farrell, Retail Banking Director, PTSB, commented: “PTSB is proud to be the title sponsor of the 2024 Guaranteed Irish Business Awards and wishes a most sincere congratulations to each of this year’s finalists. As a Bank solely focused on the Irish market, it is an honour for PTSB to work alongside the Guaranteed Irish team in recognising and celebrating the contribution and commitment of Irish businesses to local employment and global innovation through the 2024 Awards cycle.”

GUARANTEED IRISH BUSINESS AWARDS 2024 CONSTRUCTION CATEGORY SHORTLISTS Construction and Engineering, sponsored by Cedral • Abbey Seals International • EC Precision • Hybrid Energy Group • Trident Controls

Brid O’Connell, CEO, Guaranteed Irish; Oliver Callan, Broadcaster and Guaranteed Irish Business Awards MC; Patrick Farrell, Director of Retail Banking, PTSB and Sonia Deasy, Pestle and Mortar, 2023 Sustainability Winner.

Construction Manufacturing or Supply, sponsored by Cedral • Briody Bedding • EliteForm Manufacturing • Global Home Improvements • K&K Windows • Kilsaran • Kingscourt Brick • Neat Gates • Wavin Ireland Guaranteed Irish House Champion, sponsored by Cedral • Abbey Seals International • Briody Bedding • EliteForm Manufacturing • Global Home Improvements • K&K Windows • Kilsaran • Trident Controls • Wavin Ireland

irish construction news 17 January/February 2024

APPOINTMENTS

Suir Engineering appoints Brendan Moley as chief operations officer

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uir Engineering, one of Ireland’s leading engineering services providers has announced the appointment of industry expert Brendan Moley as its new chief operations officer (COO).

The move comes following Brendan Moley’s 16-year tenure as operations director at specialist construction management company Mac-Group where, more recently, he served as managing director.

Headquartered in Waterford, with offices in Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Frankfurt, Suir Engineering is one of the leading providers of mechanical, electrical and instrumental engineering services in Europe. It operates in a number of core sectors, including pharma, energy & utilities, food & beverage and data centres.

With extensive experience in

operational leadership, Brendan Moley brings over 25 years of experience to his new role. His wideranging industry knowledge positions him as a valuable asset to the Suir Engineering team as it continues to navigate and thrive in a dynamic business landscape.

On the appointment, John Kelly, CEO, Suir Engineering, said: “Brendan’s client-centric approach to business and demonstrated leadership make him a perfect fit for our company’s growth trajectory. He is widely recognised and regarded for his extensive industry experience.

We know that he will play a central role in shaping and driving Suir Engineering’s long-term success in Ireland and across Europe.”

This strategic move aligns with Suir’s plans for sustained growth as it marks 40 years in business.

Brendan Moley, COO, Suri Engineering.

Sisk appoints John Hennessey as regional director of its data centres division

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ohn Sisk & Son has announced the appointment of John Hennessey as regional director in its data centre division. Hennessy has nearly 40 years of experience delivering complex projects in Ireland, the UK and Europe, and he has been in executive and senior leadership roles for more than 30 years.

He joins Sisk from STACK Infrastructure, where he served as construction director, EMEA, with responsibility for the delivery of its data centre projects across Europe - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Owen Sisk, Managing Director, Data Centres, Sisk, said: “We are pleased to welcome John to our team as we look to expand our data centre delivery and meet the needs of our clients across Ireland, the UK and Europe. John brings a wealth of experience across all geographies in the data centre sector, and his appointment is timely given that we are seeing substantial growth with a strong pipeline of projects.”

John Hennessey, Regional Director, Data Centres, Sisk, said: “I am delighted to join Sisk as regional director, data centres. Having worked closely with Sisk in the past, the business has a really strong capability and expertise, and I can see great opportunities for Sisk to develop further in the data centres

18 irish construction news January/February 2024

John Hennessey, Regional Director, Data Centres Division, John Sisk & Son. sector across Ireland, the UK and Europe.

I’m really looking forward to helping the team, and I’ll be continuing to help build trusted relationships with our clients.”

Sisk employs over 2,500 people and is Ireland’s leading provider of construction services with extensive operations across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe

with the track record, scale and capacity to undertake large, complex, multidisciplinary programmes. Sisk delivers projects in sectors such as data and technology, semiconductors, pharmaceutical and life sciences, infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, commercial, residential, retail, industrial, leisure, education and energy.

APPOINTMENTS

Cairn appoints Richard Ball as chief financial officer

Richard Ball, CFO, Cairn Homes plc.

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airn Homes plc has announced that, following a comprehensive recruitment process, it has appointed Richard Ball as chief financial officer (CFO).

Ball succeeds Shane Doherty as CFO and will take up the post on 10 April 2024, also joining the board as an executive director at the annual general meeting (AGM) on 10 May 2024.

Shane Doherty announced his intention to step down as CFO in October 2023, agreeing to remain on the board to support the transition to his successor.

Richard Ball has over 18 years of experience in the Irish property market, with extensive expertise in finance, capital markets, sustainability and investment.

He joins from Urbeo Residential, one of Ireland’s leading residential property businesses, where he was a partner responsible for all finance and investment functions of the business. Before that, he served as chief investment officer at Hibernia REIT plc for a period of five years from its IPO. Ball previously held several corporate finance roles at various organisations, including commercial property company Clancourt Group.

He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland, holds a Master of Accountancy from University College Dublin and a BSc (Business Management) from Trinity College

Dublin.

John Reynolds, Chairman, Cairn, commented: “We are delighted to be appointing a high calibre candidate in Richard Ball as CFO. His deep experience in residential and other property sectors, in roles that cover finance, capital markets and sustainability, will be invaluable, given the company’s momentum and trajectory, as we continue to focus on driving shareholder value. We look forward to welcoming him in April.

“We would also like to again recognise Shane Doherty’s very significant contribution to Cairn and thank him for his commitment to stay in his role as part of an orderly transition to his successor.”

Richard Ball said: “I am excited by the opportunity to join Ireland’s leading homebuilder with an ambitious vision for the future. I look forward to joining Michael [Stanley] and the team to continue to deliver on their strategy of increasing the supply of high-quality, sustainable family homes.”

PJ Hegarty announces three key internal promotions to strengthen its leadership team

L to r: Maurice Killeen, Operations Director, Southern Region; and John Gavigan and Seamus Sheahan, Regional Directors Eastern Region, PJ Hegarty & Sons.

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J Hegarty & Sons has announced the appointment of Maurice Killeen as operations director for its southern region, with John Gavigan and Seamus Sheahan taking up roles as regional directors for the eastern region.

In his 30-plus years of experience since joining PJ Hegarty & Sons in 1993 as a graduate civil engineer, Maurice Killeen has worked across a wide range of sectors within the industry, particularly on large civil, industrial, pharmaceutical, and commercial projects. His proactive and structured approach to complex and challenging projects has contributed to a consistent track record of delivery for our clients and led to

his appointment as a regional director in 2015 and main board director in 2022 before taking up the post of operations director for the southern region in 2024.

John Gavigan joined PJ Hegarty in 1996 and has consistently demonstrated exceptional skill and leadership. Recognised with awards from CIOB and ICI, he advanced to contracts manager and was named regional director in 2023. His diverse project portfolio, including notable undertakings such as 10 Molesworth Street, Zoetis, and Tropical Fruit Warehouse, showcases his versatile and dynamic approach to construction management.

With over 28 years of industry experience,

Seamus Sheahan joined PJ Hegarty as a project director in 2022. His expertise and wide-ranging industry knowledge span various sectors, from residential to microchip technology. His appointment as a regional director in 2023 is a testament to his ability to manage large and complex projects, further strengthening PJ Hegarty’s leadership in the eastern region.

These appointments reflect PJ Hegarty’s commitment to excellence and belief in nurturing talent from within. Maurice Killeen, John Gavigan and Seamus Sheahan are set to play pivotal roles in PJ Hegarty’s ongoing success.

irish construction news 19 January/February 2024

INTERVIEW

Neil Mclean Goring, Lead Designer, Ramboll.

Copenhagen addresses climate change impacts by working with – not against – floodwater Following a 1,000-year storm and flood in 2011, Copenhagen introduced a plan to manage surface water flow. Neil Mclean Goring, Lead Designer, Ramboll, speaks with ROBBIE COUSINS about how the Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan works and how its principles can be applied in other cities.

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eil Mclean Goring, lead designer with global engineering and sustainable societies consultancy Ramboll, was in Dublin at the Irish Green Building Council’s Better Homes conference in December to deliver a presentation on the Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan. This is a flood protection plan Ramboll helped to devise for Denmark’s capital following several catastrophic storms and massive flood events in the last decade. These floods cost the city approximately six billion Danish kroner (just over €800m) in insurance claims (physical damage), as well as having substantial socio-economic impacts, such as citizens not being able to get to work, data loss from servers flooded, freight deliveries cancelled/impacted, etc.

COPENHAGEN FLOODS

In July 2011, in less than two hours, Copenhagen was hit by an extreme one-in1,000-year storm event – or cloudburst – where 150mm of rain left large areas of the city under up to one metre of water. There has been extreme rainfall several more times than anticipated in the years since.

Authorities in Copenhagen came to accept that the cloudbursts would not be

20 irish construction news January/February 2024

one-off incidents; they would most likely become a more regular occurrence due to the impact of climate change. The threat is compounded as the city’s harbour sea levels are predicted to rise one metre by 2110. In a city where many buildings and services are located below street level and where stormwater and sewage are in a combined pipe system, contaminated floodwater can easily penetrate buildings and city infrastructure. So feasible and sustainable solutions had to be found.

Traditional drainage solutions, such as underground reservoirs, are extremely expensive, lack flexibility, and only serve a singular purpose. The authorities concluded that Copenhagen could not manage extreme weather events with its conventional pipe systems, particularly as the pipes would have to be big enough for a car to drive through to manage a cloudburst event, and then be empty the other 95% of the time.

CLOUDBURST MANAGEMENT PLAN

The city of Copenhagen prepared the Copenhagen Cloudburst Management plan, splitting the city into eight catchment-based areas. Ramboll helped develop masterplans

INTERVIEW

In 2011, in less than two hours, Copenhagen was hit by an extreme one-in-1,000-year storm event. for four of these areas where it investigated and devised practical, pragmatic and, most importantly, feasible solutions that take into account the city’s existing infrastructure.

These four masterplans are called ‘The Copenhagen Cloudburst Concretization Masterplans’.

Neil Mclean Goring explains that conventional infrastructure is generally technological, underground, and hidden, while ‘blue’ and ‘green’ solutions tend to be low-tech, on the surface, and interactive.

“The underground solutions are hidden and fixed, whereas surface solutions are accessible and flexible. Supplementing existing conventional pipe systems with blue and green interventions in the most affected catchments was the most feasible and pragmatic approach,” he says. “A blue-green approach develops a synergistic relationship between the two, integrating climate adaptation solutions within the limited confines of urban space. This is extremely difficult, so it is vital that the blue-green solutions are multifunctional and also provide recreational value, which makes blue-green infrastructure more feasible and affordable. This approach is known as the Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan.”

The integrated, multi-disciplinary cloudburst management plan bridges the gap between planning and site-specific solutions through the application of a

typology-based cloudburst toolkit.

The Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan identified eight central city catchment areas for action and included 300 separate projects to run over the course of 20 years.

McLean Goring continues: “The actions take a nature-based and multifunctional approach to address the city’s flood risks and include redesigning parks and streets throughout Copenhagen to retain and absorb vast amounts of stormwater like a sponge at critical periods.”

COPENHAGEN CLOUDBURST CONCRETIZATION MASTERPLANS

Copenhagen aims to be the world’s first carbon-neutral capital city by 2025. It has been working towards this goal under the Copenhagen Climate Adaption Plan, which also came about as a result of the 2011 flood.

According to the Copenhagen Climate Adaption Plan, a primary challenge for the city in light of climate change is more and heavier downpours in the future.

The goal of the Copenhagen Cloudburst Concretization Masterplans is to reduce the impacts of pluvial flooding due to heavy rains. The plan builds on a detailed socioeconomic assessment to ascertain whether cloudburst and stormwater management can pay off for society. Previously, sewer discharge was allowed to ground level once

every 10 years. With the new management plan, sewer discharge is still only allowed to reach ground level once every 10 years, but average water levels will only be permitted below kerb height to exceed ground level by 10cm once every 100 years (except in areas designated for flood control).

Copenhagen had neither the capacity nor the economic resources to implement all of the cloudburst management plan measures all at once. The plan is being operated with a minimum time frame of 20 years, requiring a prioritisation of individual projects in line with the Copenhagen Climate Adaptation Plan.

Neil McLean Goring explains: “Pluvial flood risks are being addressed locally in key catchment areas through adaptive measures to store, delay or drain excess water at ground level, such as reopening streams, constructing new channels or redesigning public space, such as park or squares, as temporary detention basins, and using roads with high kerbstones to lead the pluvial flood water into these. Where unfavourable terrain prevents surface drainage and discharge, existing and new cloudburst pipes will be needed as a last resort. In central Copenhagen, the water can be diverted to the harbour through existing large pipes.”

The two key principles of the Copenhagen Concretization Masterplans are, firstly, to separate rainwater from sewerage through blue-green surface solutions mitigating both flood risk and environmental/health impacts, and, secondly, to always seek multifunctionality.

These masterplans comprise four surface solutions as well as pipe-based solutions.

These are: • Stormwater roads and pipes that transport water towards lakes and the harbour • Detention roads for storing waters • Detention areas to store a very large volume of water, eg, parks that could turn into lakes during flood events • Green roads to detain and hold back water in smaller side streets.

Copenhagen city authorities decide when they update city development plans which projects will be undertaken through a prioritisation selection, considering the following: • High-risk areas • Areas where measures are easy to implement • Areas with ongoing urban development projects, and • Areas where synergistic effects can be gained.

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS Neil Mclean Goring explains: “Traditionally, we have a situation with

irish construction news 21 January/February 2024

INTERVIEW He explains that by taking a blue-green approach, the amount of water getting into a city’s pipe infrastructure can be reduced or managed by diverting it and storing it for a period to allow the pipe network to clear.

“The alternative would be to upgrade and massively increase pipe sizes, which is not feasible as 95% of the time, these pipes will be empty.”

He continues: “With so many impermeable surfaces in urban areas, we need to create an interconnected network of landscape solutions such as blue-green parks that can take store water and hold it for 24 hours and reconfigure the camber and profiles of impermeable streets to redirect water into that park or carefully designed floodable spaces.

“This involves reshaping surfaces, adding small-scale rain beds, plant beds, and stormwater planters that take water from a catchment area. Alone, this is a band-aid solution in a local area. But if it is an entire system, the local solutions reduce the risk of flood water build-up across the entire troubled catchment areas.”

Images courtesy of Niels Nielsen from Carlsberg Byen P/S.

FIRST STEPS

A park in Copenhagen has been adapted to store excess water at ground level. drainage whereby rainwater is all put into pipes, which contain sewer and rainwater combined in one pipe.

“As climate change impacts grow, the amount of rain falling during extreme weather events has increased globally.

When projecting large rain events, they are expected to be 30-40% more intense than today. So, we either need to make our pipes bigger to handle that level of rainfall, which is an unfeasible and unsustainable solution, or find a solution that works at surface level with nature, managing and directing the movement of water in a sustainable way to all intents and purposes, a nature-based approach.

“After the flood of 2011, Copenhagen looked at the city as a rainwater catchment based on terrain. So when rainwater lands, wherever it is draining to, this is a

catchment area, and this is what is known as a ‘watershed approach’.”

He continues: “At the top part of a valley, water will behave in one way on one side of the mountain and another way on a different side. We see this even at the smallest scale in our gardens, where water accumulates in specific locations.

“Applying this at a city scale, most cities can be subdivided into manageable catchments within which the rainwater that lands willl eventually accumulate on the surface and potentially flood that catchment, but not impact another catchment. Taking this as a point of departure, instead of looking at flooding on a project-by-project basis, you’re looking at the whole city as a water network based on where water is falling and pooling, and the focus is on managing these areas.”

Neil McLean Goring says the first step in such a project is to analyse and better understand the water flow at the surface level in affected areas, which can be mapped with programmes such as GIS software.

“You take the terrain model and use it to model water flow and see where it will go.

Usually, it falls on roads. But if you make a 10cm or 20cm change in the terrain profile, you can direct the water from the road to pocket parks or storage reservoirs.

“If you store the water in the park instead of directing it to the drainage system, flood risks can be managed. This can all be achieved with small changes in the terrain, which can be implemented when the road surface is due to be upgraded anyway. So the city is doing two things at once; road upgrades and implementing part of its cloudburst plan.”

REDEFINING THE FUNCTIONS OF ROADS “One of the most significant costs of the

Render of Copenhagen Cloudburst Plan application on the city’s Saint George’s Lake.

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INTERVIEW

Neil Mclean Goring speaking at the IGBC Better Homes conference in December 2023. flooding in Copenhagen was water getting into building plots via basements. And, one of the big changes in mindset was around how roads should be used. In addition to being transport networks for cars, they have now become transport networks for water in flood events.

“We floated the idea to change the profile of roads. Instead of having a traditional high point in the middle, it can transport many litres of water per second if changed to a V-profile. From a hydraulic engineer’s point of view, it is a dream to see this huge cross-section to transport water away from the city. Historically, in the Mediterranean, some cities were designed with cobblestone streets set out to perform in that exact way if there was a flood, which was often the case as they were downstream of a river.”

MANAGING COSTS

Neil McLean Goring points out that the cloudburst management plan is not prohibitively expensive but can be adapted to align with a city’s or town’s available resources.

He explains, “It is a very practical solution. In Copenhagen, they set a 20- to 50-year delivery programme. The plan works on the basis that amendments will be incorporated into any new works being done. So, if the Roads Department is upgrading asphalt or repairing potholes on the street or the Drainage Department is upgrading pipe infrastructure, they look at the cloudburst management plan and

incorporate the recommendations into their works.

“The real merit of the Copenhagen Cloudburst Management Plan was putting heads together and getting people talking about the subject and making sure it’s integrated in every kind of development, whether it’s a retrofit of an existing area of the city or a new development, to make sure they’re all on the same page of how to handle more extreme climate and weather events.”

SPONGE CITIES

In the past couple of years, Ramboll, which employs over 18,000 people worldwide, has piloted the proactive ‘sponge city’ sustainable approach further afield in New York and Melbourne, and Neil Mclean Goring says it has the potential to be adopted by other towns and cities around the world, including in Ireland.

He explains: “We were invited to pilot the plan in parts of New York. This presented different challenges to Copenhagen. Firstly, the scale of New York is way beyond Copenhagen, and we are dealing with a much broader range of stakeholders, many of whom had no interaction with each other. This made it extremely difficult to start the plan because different bodies have individual premises. For instance, Transport is sitting in one place, Water somewhere else, and they never had occasion to speak to each other. But getting them to talk proved very fruitful, and they

have seen great merit in working together to develop sustainable and feasible solutions.

“The solutions being piloted in New York are much different to those applied in Copenhagen. Their infrastructure, planning processes and financial models are very different, and the plan was adapted to achieve the best outcome for them. Ramboll recently published a study called ;’BlueGreen Infrastructure: A New Business Case for NYC’, where it discovered that every $1 invested in blue-green infrastructure results in a $2 return. This study can be found at www.rebuildbydesign.org “When we presented the concept in Melbourne, instead of trying to use pumps, dams, levies and infrastructure, Melbourne authorities wanted to develop a more naturalised green-blue system, keeping water on the surface and changing its planning tools to enable it to handle the challenges presented to it by climate change.

“Ultimately, it shows that a holistic, multifunctional and integrated cloudburst planning approach can be applied anywhere, but there are no one-size-fitsall solutions once you start putting pen to paper. However, through stakeholder engagement, solutions can be found to meet the specific of each city or town.”

CLOUDBURSTING IN IRELAND

Neil McLean Goring says that every city and town has finite means and resources and needs to look at the challenges presented by climate change with this in mind and work with the resources and systems they have to devise workable solutions.

“It is all about trying to be multifunctional with the surfaces you have rather than coming up with one solution. Ireland, with its heavy rainfall, is experiencing the impacts of climate change, and flood events are going to become even more frequent. It is essential that the relevant authorities take a holistic approach and devise plans that integrate conventional, green and blue solutions, which are feasible, and that all stakeholders are part of the process of delivering these plans,” he concludes.

Render of Copenhagen Cloudburst Plan application on the city’s Sønder Boulevard.

irish construction news 23 January/February 2024

PIPELIFE

Proud To Present Our Latest Innovation!

Introducing the new Pipelife Integrity 600 IC Manhole & Chamber

P

ipelife develops, manufactures and distributes advanced PP, PVC and PE plastic pipe systems, something we have been doing under various names since 1947. Today, as Pipelife, part of the global Wienerberger building materials group, we are one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of lightweight yet strong solutions for the complete water cycle, for energy and power distribution, for telecommunication networks and for industrial applications.

Now, in 2023, we are delighted to present the latest and most innovative iteration of our continuous development processes: the Pipelife Integrity 600 IC Manhole & Chamber. This long-life system is the result of our dedication to learning from experience, monitoring climate and talking with customers to continually advance the design of our chamber systems. We are also looking for ways to speed up installation and improve overall integration across the entire pipeline system and the Integrity certainly delivers on this front.

FLEXIBLE & WATER-TIGHT INSTALLATIONS

The New Pipelife Integrity manholes and chambers offer strength, durability and resistance to abrasion and high temperatures, ensuring a reliable long service life. Thanks to their lightweight material they are very easy to install without the use of heavy machines, and provide an ideal solution for sewage and stormwater applications in various ground and water conditions.

Our Pipelife Integrity manholes offer a wide range of connections to the base and riser rings. In practice, engineers can design their ideal manhole without being constrained by standard inlet-angle configurations. Water tightness is also guaranteed with rubber sealing rings, even if groundwater levels are higher.

21ST CENTURY DESIGN

Every element of the new Integrity system has been designed with the very best 21stcentury technology that promotes longlasting and easy use. By prioritising this functional and high-quality technology, our manholes and chambers are built to resist, adapt, flow and last and we expect each system to provide at least 50 years of reliable service as a result. The technology used fulfils all of the requirements set out in the applicable European standards.

24 irish construction news January/February 2024

NO-COMPROMISE PRODUCTION PROCESSESS All Pipelife Integrity chambers and manholes are produced in an integrated, in-house production process. Because we develop and manufacture all the main elements ourselves, we can guarantee their compatibility with other Pipelife products as well as third-party ones. This unified, no-compromise approach to meeting requirements allows us to create functional, high-quality components with clear and reliable features. This is backed by excellent service, knowledgeable staff and readily available stock.

IDEAL USES FOR THE NEW PIPELIFE INTEGRITY MANHOLE & CHAMBER

Our new and innovative product is typically ideal for the following list of uses: • Sewage revision and inspection • Connecting sewers on different levels • Changing the direction of the sewer path (horizontally and vertically) • Changing the slope and vertical section of a sewer pipe • Draw tanks for sewage pumping station • Energy reduction

• •

Water meter manholes Revision and inspection of telecommunication and power networks • Industrial-specific needs Please note that all of our inspection chambers can be tailored to specific needs.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team if you have any questions about your desired use.

QUALITY YOU TRUST, FLEXIBILITY YOU WANT, VALUE YOU DESERVE

Just like our products, when it comes to support and service, we think systemwide as well. Our R&D team have focused on customer needs as much as blue-sky thinking to ensure that our Integrity system can reach your stockyard in no time. We make life easier by always delivering our PRO manholes as a set and, as they are so lightweight, they are fast and simple to install when they do reach you.

If you’re keen to find out more about our latest technology and embrace the benefits of the Integrity system, simply call us on 021 488 4700 or email us at ireland@ pipelife.com

Pipelife ‘Integrity 600’ IC Manhole & Chamber

FLEXIBLE & WATER TIGHT INSTALLATIONS

Our New Pipelife Integrity manholes and chambers offer strength, durability and resistance to abrasion and high temperatures, ensuring a reliable long service life. Thanks to their lightweight material they are very easy to install without the use of heavy machines, and provide an ideal solution for sewage and stormwater applications in various ground and water conditions.

SYSTEM-BASED

Our Pipelife Integrity manholes offer a wide range of connections to the base and riser rings. In practice, engineers can design their ideal manhole. Water tightness is also guaranteed with rubber sealing rings, even if groundwater levels are higher.

Manufactured to EN 13598 standard

EASY HANDLING

FAST INSTALLATION

LIFETIME 50+ YEARS

EXTREMELY ROBUST

NO SCALING OR EROSION

100% RECYCLABLE

Pipelife Ireland Solutions Limited Little Island, Cork.

T:- +353 21 4884700

E:- ireland@pipelife.com

Discover our full range at www.pipelife.ie

irish construction news 25 January/February 2024

INTERVIEW

Opened in 2019, in Kingscourt, Co Cavan, IKON is Kingspan’s global innovation centre.

Innovation remains a core pillar of Kingspan Insulation’s strategy Niall O’Connor, Managing Director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland, speaks with ROBBIE COUSINS about how the company is working with customers to reduce the embodied and operational carbon of Irish building stock.

K

ingspan Insulation Ireland managing director Niall O’Connor and his team are guiding the leading manufacturer of high-performance insulation products through a complex set of challenges, including continuing high raw material and production costs, uncertainty in some market sectors, and growing pressure on the construction sector to reduce the embodied and operational carbon of its buildings and structures.

Kingspan continues to set a very high standard in terms of innovation, particularly in sustainability. Its Planet Passionate sustainability programme, as well as helping it work towards ambitious sustainability objectives, supports customers and industry stakeholders in progressing their sustainability goals.

Kingspan also continues to launch new and innovative products, including its nextgeneration AlphaCore insulation range and OPTIM-R E Inverted Roof System featuring

26 irish construction news January/February 2024

encapsulated vacuum insulation panels (VIPs).

KINGSPAN INSULATION RANGE

Niall O’Connor explains that Kingspan Insulation aims to be a full spectrum insulation product provider and recognises that there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for the building envelope.

“We offer a full range of products to meet contractor, specifier and architect needs,” he says. “This translates to an offering which includes phenolic (Kooltherm), PIR (Therma range), EPS, XPS (Kingspan GreenGuard), vacuum insulation panels (OPTIM-R) and stone wool insulation (K-Roc), amongst others.

“We’re also working to develop and grow our product portfolio based on market needs. This includes our recently launched AlphaCore range, next-generation insulation with excellent thermal and reaction-to-fire performance.

“Of equal importance to our products is the technical expertise, support and advice we offer all customers. As an Irish business, Kingspan has been operating in the market since 1965. This has allowed us to build close relationships with customers from across the construction sector, understanding the technical and practical issues they face and how we can support them to overcome these challenges.”

According to O’Connor, this combination of product and customer knowledge, coupled with a complete spectrum product offering, allows its commercial and technical teams to provide “practical, costeffective and efficient insulation solutions to meet our partners’ needs.”

KINGSPAN INSULATION IN IRELAND

Niall O’Connor explains that the breadth of Kingspan’s insulation range In Ireland means it can offer solutions to meet each

INTERVIEW

Niall O’Connor, Managing Director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland. customer’s specific needs for a variety of different requirements.

He says: “For typical applications, however, our phenolic Kooltherm and PIR Therma ranges remain the most popular due to their excellent thermal performance and practicality.

“For example, our Kooltherm K8 Plus Cavity Board has a thermal conductivity of just 0.021 W/mK. This means it is possible to achieve the U-value target with a lesser thickness of insulation than would be possible with lower-performing insulation materials. This can allow project teams to achieve ambitious U-values whilst maintaining slim wall constructions – maximising the useable floor space.”

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Innovation is a core pillar of Kingspan’s global strategy. In 2022, it invested €60.3m in research and development across its global organisation.

“This level of investment allows us to bring new products to market to help address key changing needs. Our latest product developments include the OPTIM-R E Inverted Roof System and AlphaCore.

“Optim-R E is a VIP encapsulated in a coating for increased robustness and easier handling. These VIPs achieve outstanding levels of thermal performance. As part of our inverted roofing system, the product is perfect for projects where specifiers want to achieve low U-values or where the available depth for insulation is limited. The inverted roofing system is also compatible with most green roof systems.

“AlphaCore is a next-generation addition to our product range. It is a hydrophobic, microporous, silica insulation board, with a Euroclass rating of A2-s1,d0 and a thermal conductivity of just 0.020 W/ mK. This makes it well suited to rainscreen applications for new and refurbishment

projects where space is at a premium.”

SUPPORTING CUSTOMERS

Kingspan Insulation has a comprehensive range of client support measures in place. O’Connor says that improving the knowledge base across the sector is vital and something Kingspan is focused on.

“Our long-standing relationships with contractors and specifiers enables us to work closely together and support their needs,” he comments. “Our highly experienced technical department in Castleblayney can provide project-specific advice and support, backed with a range of resources and tools on our website, such as our U-value calculator. This relationship also feeds into the product development pipeline, allowing the R&D teams at our IKON innovation centre in Kingscourt to develop innovative solutions to key challenges.”

He adds: “Our technical and commercial teams also offer a range of support services to customers, including in-person or remote CPDs and toolbox talks covering all aspects of handling and installing products on site.

“We are also delighted to be a founding member of the Supply Chain Sustainability School in Ireland, which aims to support and upskill Irish businesses via virtual learning platforms to deliver a sustainable built environment.”

MAKING SPACE

Niall O’Connor believes two of the critical challenges facing Kingspan customers at the moment are reducing carbon emissions and realising the true value of space.

“Through our wide range of products, we look to complete the building envelope in a way that limits both embodied and operational carbon emissions. We are working to achieve this in a variety of ways. For example, the excellent thermal efficiency of our key product ranges, such

as Kooltherm, makes it possible to achieve low U-values with a reduced thickness of insulation when compared with poorerperforming alternatives. This not only makes it possible to achieve buildings which retain heat more efficiently, reducing their operational carbon but also limits the volume of raw materials needed, which can lower embodied carbon.”

He adds: “In addition to exploring the use of bio-based raw materials in insulation products, we also engage in a process of constant improvement to lower the embodied carbon emissions of our existing product ranges. This includes assessing raw material sourcing, looking for improvements in our production processes and packaging and assessing how we transport our products to site.

“These ongoing developments, combined with our technical expertise and knowledge, can help customers deliver low energy, low carbon buildings.”

When discussing the second challenge, maximising usable space in buildings, O’Connor says this remains a crucial metric for value and investment potential in properties.

“Our selection of thermally efficient wall insulation boards, such as Kooltherm and AlphaCore, can make it possible to achieve low U-values with thinner insulation thicknesses than may be achievable with alternative products. This enables our commercial and technical teams to work with customers to achieve slimmer external wall constructions, maximising the available floor area within a given building footprint.”

KINGSPAN ACQUISITIONS

As part of a global organisation, Kingspan Insulation benefits from wider business developments, whether through internal product development or new acquisitions.

Recent investments include taking a majority stake in Steico, a leading ecological wood fibre insulation materials manufacturer.

He comments: “The Steico investment should allow us to further expand our full spectrum product offering here in Ireland in the next few years and will enable us to introduce new products that use bio-based materials such as wood fibre.”

PLANET PASSIONATE

Planet Passionate, Kingpan’s 10-year global sustainability programme, aims to tackle climate change, circularity and protection of the natural world. It is at the core of Kingspan’s business model and influences every aspect of the business globally. The ambitious programme began in 2020, and key targets to be achieved by 2030 include meeting 60% of the company’s energy needs with direct renewable energy; to become

irish construction news 27 January/February 2024

INTERVIEW

Kingspan’s next-generation AlphaCore insulation range. a net-zero manufacturer (scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions); to achieve a 50% reduction in product CO2e intensity from primary supply chain partners; and to ensure zero company waste to landfill.

Niall O’Connor explains that while these targets are at a global level, each one drives local targets. “Here in Ireland, we have already converted almost half of our vehicle fleet to EVs, have achieved zero landfill waste and deliver a significant amount of our energy needs through onsite solar PV generation.

“With targets so ambitious, each business is constantly focused on the next range of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and energy usage. To further drive these activities, the company has also introduced an internal carbon charge of €70/t CO2 across its global business since January 2023.”

Kingspan Insulation is committed to helping its customers progress their own sustainability targets.

He continues: “Our initiatives can help customers in a couple of ways. Firstly, our progress in developing and introducing low embodied carbon and bio-based insulation offerings and in reducing the carbon emissions from our sites and production processes allows us to deliver products which have lower carbon intensity.

At the same time, their excellent thermal performance makes it possible to reduce operational carbon from the buildings they are used on.

“Secondly, customers can leverage Kingspan’s technical expertise and experience in the area to help them in the design phase of more sustainable buildings.

For example, using Kingspan’s Thermataper flat roof insulation can decrease the need for carbon-intensive materials in flat roof construction. When integrated into a building’s design at an early stage, Thermataper can help minimise the need for steel reinforcing and eliminate the requirement for concrete screeds, which would commonly be used to achieve the necessary slope on a flat roof.”

Niall O’Connor expects 2024 to be a

28 irish construction news January/February 2024

Kingspan’s Kooltherm K8-plus range. challenging year for the construction sector but says Kingspan Insulation will continue to support customers with a value-based offering combining high-performance insulation and superior technical advice and customer service.

“Our delivery of Planet Passionate targets will remain to the fore, and we’ll also focus on the roll-out of our new product offering, including AlphaCore, acoustic panels, and bio-based materials.”

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Circularity is one of the core pillars of Kingspan’s Planet Passionate programme.

Kingspan’s Castleblayney campus is already achieving zero company waste to landfill.

In addition, globally, Kingspan recycled 803m PET bottles into its manufacturing processes in 2022 and aims to increase this to one billion bottles by 2025.

“We are constantly exploring further means to improve circularity, whether that’s the reuse of polyisocyanurate (PIR) and phenolic foam or waste takeback schemes, which we already offer in a number of markets.

“In addition, locally, at our manufacturing plant in Askeaton, Limerick, we’ve made substantial strides in reducing mains water usage during the manufacturing process. Mains water consumption has been cut by approximately 90%, replaced by water harvested from a nearby disused quarry.”

RETROFIT MARKET

Niall O’Connor comments that the Irish retrofit market is showing enormous growth potential and is extremely important to Kingspan Insulation.

“The government’s retrofit programme has a target of 500,000 homes to be retrofitted to a B2 standard by 2030. These targets are incredibly ambitious but have to be so out of necessity, even before commercial and public sector buildings are added to the equation.”

He continues: “Our view is that for retrofit projects to be effective and

successful, they require a fabric-first approach; roughly 60% heat loss in buildings is via walls and roof, so, if the building envelope is not adequately insulated, other offerings such as heat pumps and solar panels will not deliver their expected gains.

“In this respect, we’re already active in the space and are partnering with SSE in their one-stop-shop offer, while we’re also working closely with SEAI and contractors across the country on retrofit developments.”

O’Connor adds that he understands that retrofit projects can present a wide range of additional challenges when compared with new builds.

“Our staff work closely with customers to understand these challenges and deliver products that solve these challenges. For example, uninsulated solid floors present a significant retrofit challenge, as any insulation fitted above the slab will reduce the floor-to-ceiling height within a space.

Our OPTIM-R Flooring System uses VIPS with optimal thermal performance, which can allow floors to be effectively insulated with a minimal thickness of insulation limiting changes in headroom.

GUARANTEED IRISH

Niall O’Connor is a board member of Guaranteed Irish and has been watching the roll-out of its Guaranteed Irish House initiative with interest. Guaranteed Irish House is a programme that supports those working and specifying in the construction sector to make decisions that support sustainability and Irish jobs.

“Kingspan has a long association with Guaranteed Irish, and I’m very pleased to support the organisation as a board member. Guaranteed Irish plays a crucial role in promoting Irish businesses across all sectors, including construction, which, as you know, is an enormous employer and economic driver here in Ireland. This includes advertising, promotion and acting as a general advocate for Irish construction sector firms at a national and governmental level to highlight the benefits of buying from Guaranteed Irish brands and businesses.

“One exciting development is Guaranteed Irish House. This is a national listing of construction sector businesses based in Ireland, offering architects, engineers and quantity surveyors a listing of locally produced raw building materials and home furnishings for both private and commercial builds. We expect to see further developments with this initiative in 2024.”

Niall O’Connor concludes.

To learn more about the full Kingspan Insulation product range, visit www.kingspan.com

Ireland’s Largest Manufacturer for reinforcing cut and bent and mesh for the construction industry Specialist rebar fabricators offering competitive rates for both cut and bent bar and mesh reinforcement. We also stock a comprehensive range of standard mesh sheets, reinforcement accessories, spacers and tie wire.

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Ph: 01 4587165 /01 4587156 Fax: 01 4587204 Email:Sean@jss.ie www.jamesstreetsteel.com

irish construction news 29 January/February 2024

INTRODUCING

Firestone roofing, wall and lining systems are becoming Elevate. Our name may be changing, but the same people, products and standards you trust will remain.

Go to HolcimElevate.com for more information.

30 irish construction news January/February 2024

PROJECTS

€215m Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade will enhance connectivity in Cork The Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme has been officially opened by An Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, marking a significant milestone in enhancing transportation infrastructure and connectivity in Cork.

T

he €215m Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade promises to alleviate congestion, improve safety, and streamline traffic flow for the region’s residents and businesses.

The Dunkettle Interchange is the junction of four national roads: the M8 Cork - Dublin motorway, the N25 Cork - Waterford/Rosslare route, the N40 Cork South Ring Road and the N8 Dunkettle - Cork city national route. The interchange is located approximately 5km east of Cork city centre and lies mainly within the Cork City Council administrative area.

While advance works, including archaeological and ground investigations, got underway in 2016, the main construction contract was awarded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland to John Sisk & Son Ltd in October 2020. The project has delivered 18 new road links totalling 10km in length, seven new bridge structures, upgrade works carried out on five pre-existing structures, and upgrades and resurfacing works to the N25 road between the Tivoli roundabout and the Little Island interchange. In addition, 2.9km of new walkways and cycleways have been developed, including the provision of a new bridge across the Cork-Midleton railway line; intelligent transport systems throughout the upgraded interchange; and installation of new culverts and pollution control facilities, landscaping works, directional signage, safety barriers, etc.

Traffic volumes through the Dunkettle interchange are at an all-time high, approaching 120,000 vehicles on the busier days of the week. Despite this, Transport Infrastructure Ireland reports that journey times during peak hours have reduced by almost 50% on average as a result of this upgrade project.

Journey time savings of almost 60% are being achieved on the N40 to N25 route during peak hours, whilst time savings of over 50% are being achieved on routes accessed via the M8 Southbound.

Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, said: “The new interchange stands as an important additional piece in the strategic transport infrastructure in metropolitan Cork. This year marks 25 years since the Jack Lynch Tunnel opened, which in its day was seen as an engineering feat. The new interchange is also an engineering feat and adds to the adjacent tunnel’s story and narratives.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said: “I’m delighted to officially open the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme today. This infrastructure project represents a significant investment in Cork’s future and provides a vital link in the region’s transport network. I believe that it will be a catalyst for enhancing economic and social activity right across Cork and the entire Munster region.”

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank O’Flynn, said: “The completion of this project is a significant milestone in the development of the southern region. Cork County Council will be working closely with our colleagues in Cork City Council to build on the work done at Dunkettle in terms of active travel infrastructure and deliver further enhancements both east and west of the interchange.”

Peter Walsh, Chief Executive, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, said: “The Dunkettle project completion marks the culmination of a journey that has been ten years in the making. Planning permission for the scheme was first received in 2013, and ongoing close collaboration between the government, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, John Sisk & Son Ltd and Jacobs allowed the project to move forward. It was delivered through innovation and commitment by the entire project team and with the support and patience of the public.”

Will Merriman, Managing Director, Sisk Civil Engineering Ireland, said: “Dunkettle was an extremely complex project, working in and around live traffic at one of the country’s busiest intersections in a major urban environment. We are delighted to have now delivered and handed over the project, which has already improved traffic flow, mobility, and multi-user access in the region. I am particularly pleased that we have delivered on our promise of the highest standards of safety and quality with this complex infrastructure project.”

The contract for the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme includes a three-year maintenance period, which will run until 2027. In addition to environmental monitoring and landscaping management, this will also include an ongoing focus on monitoring traffic flows through the network.

irish construction news 31 January/February 2024

CASE STUDY

Vision Contracting breaking sustainability barriers – Premier Inn, Gloucester Street South, Dublin The 10-storey-over-basement Premier Inn, Gloucester Street South, Dublin, built by Vision Contracting, was Ireland’s first A2-BER certified hotel. It is BREEAM certified, and its embodied carbon is 374kg/m2 GFA.

B

uilt with performance in mind, the Premier Inn, Gloucester Street South, Dublin, has a reduced energy usage of 70% over typical hotels, with primary heating and electricity needs met from in-situ renewables.

Extraordinary site constraints (site footprint 637.6 sq-metres) and construction challenges were overcome by, among other measures, the use of MMC, reducing on-site works and minimising site traffic movement.

The contract had a rigorous handover regime, entailing a 95% completion rate on all snags, with Vision Contracting’s experienced site team using its expertise to complete this critical works element.

As a certified Considerate Constructor, Vision Contracting kept open communications with all local stakeholders. This was pivotal to the successful completion of this infill project in a busy location in the heart of Dublin city centre.

THE CONTRACT

Vision Contracting Ltd was appointed main contractor and PSCS by client Red Rock Developments Ltd for Premier Inn Whitbread Hotels plc on the brownfield site.

The project was awarded under a design & build (D&B) contract with architecture practice DTA as the design partner. The client

32 irish construction news January/February 2024

required the hotel to be certified in accordance with BREEAM principles, setting standards for best practice in sustainable design, construction and operation.

The site’s tight 637.6 sq-metre footprint restricted access and egress within a mixed residential and business community, with an adjacent primary school to be considered as well. So tight was the site that it could not accommodate the site office and facilities, which were set up at an adjacent location.

NET ZERO DEVELOPMENT

The hotel’s A2-BER certification sets it apart from other hotels. The project embodies the principles of net zero development through: • Infill development of an unused existing urban site • Increasing density and placing the hotel near existing resources and infrastructure and public transport connections • Careful detailing of a high-performance façade/ envelope • Selection of greener/low-carbon materials • Efficient energy use/sources, maximised natural daylighting; full sub-metering to drive continuous improvements in energy efficiency/water conservation • Zero waste from construction • Careful construction and operational waste management.

CASE STUDY DESIGN AND LAYOUT

Guest accommodation is configured around a compact vertical circulation and service core comprising double, triple and universally accessible ensuite bedrooms with interconnecting rooms and linen rooms, all designed to Premier Inn’s specific requirements.

The ground floor contains reception and waiting areas, with open-plan guest seating, bar and a restaurant with a direct visual connection to the street. Back-of-house and service areas include a commercial kitchen, drinks storage, luggage room, office, refuse and recycling, main linen room, toilets and a small courtyard.

The basement comprises toilets, staff changing, a tea room, a bicycle room, storage and the main plant room.

The main roof space houses solar PV panels, a hybrid VRF air conditioning system, heat pumps and heat recovery AHU to service kitchens.

TENDERING AND PROCUREMENT

Having worked previously with this client on several projects, Vision Contracting completed a comprehensive prequalification submission, including detailed work proposals setting out mitigation strategies for the works, including community engagement and approaches to minimising waste and upholding the highest safety standards.

Mick Allen, Construction Director, Vision Contracting, explains: “We have an established supply chain, including subcontractors and suppliers with proven performance track records. We constantly review this to ensure we have the best teams and materials available for each project. On this occasion, we also worked with several operator-approved materials suppliers for the fit-out. In addition, several specialist consultants and suppliers were engaged to achieve high levels of energy efficiency.”

Supplier procurement and supply chain logistical management were set up on Datto procurement software using a procurement schedule detailing and tracking all materials, subcontractors and suppliers from tender to start on site or due on site.

WORKS PROGRAMME

This logistically challenging build necessitated a hybrid traditional/ offsite construction approach with comprehensive traffic management and community engagement plans.

Work commenced on 21 September 2020 with the demolition of original site structures, followed by the installation of secant piles around the site’s perimeter and piling to the internal foundations within the basement footprint.

Following the January to May 2021 Covid-19 shutdown, on reopening, the basement, ground floor slab and first-floor transfer beams were completed to allow commencement of first-floor precast.

From the first floor to the roof, the structure was precast with precast planks, concrete screeds, and some structural steel elements.

Bathroom pods were installed on each floor in sequence with the structure. The construction cycle between each floor was 13 days, which was repeated until the completion of the roof slab in March 2022. When the main frame reached the fourth floor, the curtain wall window system was commenced at the first-floor level, followed by a 15-day installation cycle up to and including the ninth floor.

When the curtain wall window system reached the third floor, the brickwork, precast band beam, and lintels were commenced on the first floor.

Once the curtain walling window systems were installed and roofs weathered, internal completions commenced at first-floor level. This work included mechanical, electrical, joinery and floor finishes, as well as decoration and case goods. This was sequenced on a floor-byfloor basis.

DELIVERING ON SITE

Like every project, Premier Inn Gloucester Street South presented a number of project-specific obstacles. The project team devised a mix of modern construction solutions and put their on-the-job learning

irish construction news 33 January/February 2024

CASE STUDY

and experience to good use.

Mick Allen explains: “The client’s brief required Vision Contracting to manage the project from inception to completion.

Full ongoing engagement with the client ensured their input in all processes. This was an extremely tight urban site, particularly considering the scale of the building, not to mention it is located at the junction of two narrow Dublin city centre streets, with an adjacent residential community, businesses, and a primary school to be considered.

“We maintained open communications with local politicians, businesses and the community at all times. One outcome from this was having truck movements at the site timed to cause minimal disruption to the local community and the school.”

As Premier Inn has an established UK fit-out supplier network, Vision Contracting was presented with the challenge of importing goods from the UK post-Brexit and the well-documented supply chain challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic presented.

Working closely with the client and their supply chain, the project team specified all of the requirements at a very early project stage and

PROJECT TEAM Client: Red Rock Developments Ltd Hotel Operator: Whitbread Properties (Premier Inn Hotels) Architect: DTA Architects Design & Build Contractor and PSCS: Vision Contracting Ltd Employer’s Quantity Surveyor: Duke McCaffrey Consulting Employer’s Project Manager: Leading Edge Project Directors (LEPD) Civil & Structural Engineer: Cora Consulting Engineers M&E Consultant: Belton Consulting Engineers Energy Consultant: Geraghty Energy Consultants Ltd BREEAM Consultant: Easlár Project Supervisor Design Process: ASM Group Assigned Certifier: ORS Building Consultants Fire Consultant: GSP Fire Ltd Acoustic Consultant: AWN Consulting

34 irish construction news January/February 2024

CASE STUDY maintained supply as needed. Goods imported from UK suppliers included bedroom furniture.

Mick Allen adds that the façade construction with the interaction of the various building elements - concrete frame, curtain-wall window system, louvres, perforated anodised panels, EDPMs, DPCs, cavity wall insulation, wall restraint system, fire cavity barriers, bricks and mortar detail, and mastic joints – were a critical challenge.

“While the inner structural walls, band beams, lintels and cappings were all precast and manufactured off-site, we built the full external panel on site while constructing the ground to first-floor walls. This helped maintain the project on budget and gave us the flexibility to agree critical details close to installation, thereby reducing design/ time risks.”

MECHANICAL PLANT INSTALLATION

Before the commencement of basement works, Vision Contracting procured all basement mechanical plant and had it placed into the basement plant room before starting the plant room roof/ground floor suspended slab. This facilitated the mechanical contractor to commence work on the plant rooms earlier.

SNAGGING AND COMMISSIONING

Once the project entered the commissioning and snagging stage before handover, and with specifications above the normal BCAR and practical completion (PC) requirements, Premier Inn had a rigorous and comprehensive snagging and handover regime to be followed within the contract. This entailed a 95% completion rate on all snags prior to the client taking possession of the hotel and a commissioning schedule to make sure every element was fully operational for the opening.

Using its professional expertise and management skills, the site team completed all necessary tasks to facilitate a smooth and uninterrupted transition from PC to the official and successful hotel opening.

BCAR AND DATA COLLECTION

Dublin City Council Building Control called regularly and, on occasion, was requested to confirm any compliance issues, which avoided issues arising at handover.

ORS was the assigned certifier and set up Smartsheets for the project to track all BCAR items during construction, reducing Vision Contracting’s risks and need for rework.

The M&E consultants Belton Consulting Engineers and architects DTA used Archtec Pro/Site Pal, which created inspection plans directly from saved templates. The fire consultant, GSP Fire Ltd, used Siteworks to generate BCAR documentation.

COMPLETION

The overall project duration was 104 weeks from September 2020 to February 2023, with a 16-week Covid-19 shutdown from January to May 2021. The hotel was officially opened on 15 March 2023.

Premier Inn Gloucester Street replaced a disused warehouse in one of Dublin city centre’s most sought-after locations. The client received an A2 BER-certified hotel with a 63.4% BREEAM certification. The hotel provides employment opportunities for the local community and has brought a new life to a previously abandoned city-centre site.

IN CONCLUSION

Vision Contracting’s turnkey development of the Premier Inn Gloucester Street South, Dublin, is a prime example of how the contractor goes beyond requirements to meet clients’ needs. The Vision Contracting team specified all the building elements required to achieve the A2 BER rating. The architect DTA took a design-forperformance approach in designing the building, reflected in the 63.4% BREEAM rating.

The hotel draws primary water and space heating and electricity requirements from renewable sources, with a roof containing a

dedicated PV solar array. It also features green roof balconies across the facades, and the only parking on site is for staff bicycles.

The client, Keith Craddock, founder of Red Rock Developments, comments on the project: “The Premier Inn Hotel Gloucester Street is a unique high-end sustainable development. The A2 BER achieved on the project, as well as the many innovative energy-efficient technologies that were incorporated, are all very impressive. The site logistics demanded an innovative construction approach to meet the scheme’s quality and programme requirements. Vision Contracting’s professionalism, unrelenting attention to detail, focus on quality, and respect for all stakeholders meant they could deliver this remarkable hotel in Dublin’s city centre.”

Niall O’Meara, Managing Director, Vision Contracting, says of the project: “Overcoming extraordinary site and construction challenges and the clever use of offsite resources and digital solutions characterised this project and the resolve of our on-site team. The contract’s rigorous handover regime really put them to the test. They can all be very proud of their achievements on this job.”

irish construction news 35 January/February 2024

E L A C O N TA I N E R

ELA Container: A global company with local presence delivering high-quality room solutions for over 50 years

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ith over 50 years of experience, ELA Container is one of the leading suppliers of high-quality and modular room solutions to rent or buy in any chosen size and with custom fittings. The family-owned company with over 1,400 employees and 22 locations worldwide has now established a direct and fast-growing presence in Ireland with a local Operations Centre and container stock in County Wicklow, from where we serve our customers throughout Ireland.

WORKSPACES THAT COMBINE QUALITY AND COMFORT

ELA’s containers are renowned for their exceptional quality, resulting in a comfortable and pleasant working or living environment. One crucial aspect contributing to the well-being of construction site personnel are the large windows, which allow a lot of natural light to flood in, creating a conducive workspace.

The bright interiors further enhance the atmosphere, fostering a friendly and productive ambiance.

Moreover, ELA offers integrated heating and, optionally, air conditioning, ensuring employees can work in comfortable temperatures year-round. The excellent insulation guarantees that the modular rooms remain cool in summer and warm in winter. Cables are neatly integrated into the container frame, eliminating the hassle of tangled cables that can impede functionality or indeed create health & safety concerns.

ELA Containers not only provide high quality but also offer market-leading value

36 irish construction news January/February 2024

for money. Outstanding workmanship, a robust and durable container frame, efficient insulation and positive impact on employees’ well-being make ELA containers particularly attractive as interim rooms for construction sites.

But that’s not all – ELA also offers an extensive range of options and furniture to customize your rooms. With 600,000 items in stock, you can create the perfect environment for your project managers and skilled workers on construction sites.

FLEXIBLE ROOMS FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES

EFFICIENT DELIVERY AND TURNKEY SOLUTIONS

Precise planning and smooth processes are of great importance for construction projects. To ensure optimum conditions for every type of building site, ELA offers a wide range of multifunctional rooms which are completely modular, allowing you to scale buildings up or down based on standard container footprints.

ELA’s modular solutions are designed to fulfill projects of any size, whether you need a single container or a full modular building. ELA provides an extensive container range to meet your specific needs, including offices, meeting rooms, canteens, locker rooms, drying rooms, sanitary containers, and even security offices.

ELA Container focuses on customer proximity and short distances. A high stock of 60,000 rental containers and the dense ELA sales network throughout Europe ensure short delivery times, fast installation and commissioning, regardless of whether your project is located in Ireland or anywhere throughout Europe.

Assembled on site and fully equipped, ELA room solutions are ready for immediate occupancy.

For more information on ELA Container’s extensive range of mobile room solutions and for contact details for ELA’s specialist advisor in Ireland, please visit www.elacontainer.com.

Modular room solutions for construction sites

Benefits Modern, friendly and flexible workspaces Extensive range of furniture and accessories available Capability to fulfil projects of any size Site surveys for optimal planning and implementation Fast delivery and assembly directly on site Local presence and support in Ireland

For more information please visit: www.ela-container.com/ building-site-container

With ELA building site containers, you and your team will be perfectly equipped in every phase of construction.

We deliver your modular rooms at short notice and ready for use on your construction site with suitable furnishings and accessories – a turnkey service, from design to implementation.

irish construction news 37 January/February 2024

CASE STUDY

Sustainability at Premier Inn Gloucester Street South This Gloucester Street South hotel will have all the hallmarks of the familiar Premier Inn brand. But behind the façade of the latest Dublin Premier Inn, the building combines many innovative green technologies to make it one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the city.

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he Premier Inn Gloucester Street South, Dublin, built by Vision Contracting, was the first hotel in Ireland to achieve A2 BER certification. A design-for-performance approach at the design and procurement stage means all materials and systems work together to ensure the hotel has the lowest operational carbon emissions. Material selection was guided by the sustainable rating of each material to reduce embodied carbon and increase the building life cycle. Assessment of the materials used in the project using IGBC One Click LCA indicates that the embodied carbon is approximately 374kg/ m2 GFA.

PRIMARY MATERIALS

Concrete supplied by O’Reilly Concrete utilises up to 30% ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS). The supplier advocated for a low-carbon approach to construction, actively recycling all water used in production and offsetting their carbon production through planting trees. The hotel’s main structural frame is predominantly green precast concrete, significantly contributing to green building practices.

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Brickwork, supplied by Wienerberger, is 100% recyclable or reusable. All Wienerberger plants and practices are subject to clear ESG criteria, and the company fully supports the European Green Deal, advancing the circular economy and biodiversity toward 100% decarbonisation.

Aluminium window frames by Reynaers Aluminium have a cradle-to-cradle certification achieved by meeting stringent criteria of material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship and social fairness.

Roofs and balconies have sedum planting as a visual amenity from the upper floors and surrounding buildings and also to provide the necessary water attenuation/storage.

INNOVATIVE ENERGY AND CARBON REDUCTION MEASURES

Energy efficiency and sustainability were clear priorities from the outset. As part of the brief, Premier Inn required the building to achieve a 35% improvement or greater on the requirements of the already onerous Building Regulations, TGD Part L. The project team worked closely with

the energy consultant (GEC), leveraging building performance analysis tools to evaluate system options meticulously.

DESIGNED FOR PERFORMANCE

Designing with operational performance in mind was core to the project’s success.

Managing how people use energy in a building, especially a hotel, is challenging.

The strategy was to integrate systems into the building to minimise waste and reduce CO2 emissions.

The hotel’s energy performance calculations show that operational CO2 emissions should be in the region of 26.55 kG CO2/m2 (28.8 kG CO2/m2 for regulated energy use). This is owing to a high-performance building fabric, efficient energy transfer systems, and integration of low-carbon technology. According to CIBSE energy benchmarks (Guide F), this represents a 70% reduction in typical energy use for hotels, which produce around 117 kG/CO2/m2.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE FAÇADE

The project’s success revolved around the building’s energy and sustainability features. A high-performance façade helps

CASE STUDY

conserve energy by preventing heat loss and air leakage, and well-designed windows maximise natural light without excessive heat gain.

HEAT PUMPS & HYBRID VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW SYSTEM

A variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system harnesses energy transfer between zones, inherently suited to the hotel’s multiple orientations, minimising refrigerant gas within the building. Zonal mechanical ventilation with heat recovery operates only when occupants are present. Efficient air source heat pumps for hot water generation contribute to reduced energy use and CO2 emissions.

FULL SUB-METERING SYSTEM AND DEDICATED MONITORING

A full sub-metering system and dedicated monitoring and targeting system enable the operator to track energy and water consumption, facilitating informed decisions to optimise resource utilisation and conservation.

SPACE AND WATER HEATING FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES

Primary space, water heating, and electricity

demand are met from in-situ renewable sources. Air-to-water heat pumps at roof level provide the primary space and water heating. Bedroom heat recovery units reduce air conditioning demand, and solar photovoltaic panels are integrated into the electrical infrastructure.

BER & BREAAM

The project’s dedication to excellence is exemplified by the building achieving a BREEAM certification of 63.4%, categorised as ‘Very Good’. This is considered an exceptional rating for a building type recognised typically for high energy demand and offers a promising blueprint for similar eco-friendly projects in the future.

Its A2 BER certification shows that heat transmission through building fabric is 165.92 kWh/mÇ/yr0.32 (annual CO2 emissions). This was achieved with the following elemental performance results: • External walls U-value: 0.18W/m2K • Precast ground floors U-value: 0.12W/ m2K • Flat roofs U-value: 0.12W/m2K • Personnel doors U-value: 1.59W/m2K • High-usage entrance doors U-value: 1.20W/m2K • Double-glazed curtain wall windows and rooflights, U-value: 1.05W/m2K • Air permeability 50 Pa: 4.02 m3/(hm2) • Primary space & water heating from air to water heat pumps with gas boiler backup • Primary electricity needs met by roof solar panels, with backup electricity from the national grid.

irish construction news 39 January/February 2024

COACHING

Building Success: The Transformative Impact of Coaching in the Construction Industry

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t the outset, a question arises: Do the design and construction industries have anything in common with coaching? The answers to such a question will be as many as the respondents, plus one. To answer this question responsibly, we need to delve deeper into defining what coaching actually is. According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics, coaching is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential’.

Do you see any limitations imposed on life or professional situations here? I don’t either. Unfortunately, during my work in the construction industry, I have never encountered the coaching process even once. No one has ever suggested it to me, regardless of the position I held – from a novice engineer to an engineer, lead, all the way to a mid-level manager. I have only participated in ‘hard’ training sessions and perhaps one (in 18 years) ‘soft’ training session focusing on improving team communication.

So, precisely, ‘in training’. What, then, is the difference between training provided by organisations to their employees and coaching—whether individual, team or group?

There is only one, but a very significant one: During training, participants receive a portion of knowledge related, for example, to improving team communication. They receive guidelines on how to behave in a given situation – ways A, B...X, Y. When they find themselves in a similar situation in their professional work, they may use one of the paths or solutions presented during the training.

In the case of coaching, participants in the process will not be given a ready-made solution. They will arrive at it themselves through the process. Why? The role of the coach is to make people aware that they have ready-made solutions in their heads that: • Perhaps they have used it in the past, • Perhaps they have not yet been verbalised and are waiting to be discovered • Will not be judged by the coach or any other participant in the process.

A crucial advantage of coaching over training is that the solutions found by the participant (individual coaching) or participants (team coaching) in the process will be their solutions. This is very important from the perspective of change management theory.

40 irish construction news January/February 2024

Piotr Siwak, Siwak Consultancy Limited.

The situations described above mainly concern processes in organisations and are related to team coaching. But what about individual coaching when, for example, a C-suite or mid-level manager is struggling in professional or private situations? The situation is very similar; the only difference will be the tools that the coach employs.

With what challenges can you turn to a coach? I’ll answer straight: with any! If the coach is a true coach, they will honestly tell you whether they can help you – if not,

they will direct you to another specialist.

The main challenges in which a coach can assist you both in organisational and individual contexts include increasing productivity, achieving goals, time management, improving communication, relationship uplifting, enhancing wellbeing, uncovering ingrained habits and beliefs, resolving conflicts, and more.

When I reflect on my previous experiences with coaching – before I started practising it professionally – I can

COACHING

say that if I hadn’t sought the support of a coach at a particular stage in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am now. And where am I now? I support people in dealing with their challenges, I do what I love, I lead a happy family and professional life, and I am myself; I wish the same for you, dear reader.

IN CONCLUSION, A BRIEF SUMMARY

Remember, coaching is a partnership based on trust and complete discretion! A coach will never judge your actions, let alone judge you. Your life is yours, and yours alone!

Piotr Siwak, Siwak Consultancy Limited email: siwak.consultancy@gmail.com Web:: https://www.piotrsiwak.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/piotrsiwak For more details, visit www.piotrsiwak.com

irish construction news 41 January/February 2024

S E C TO R F O C U S

Construct Innovate delivers nearly €1 million in seed funding for construction research in its first year COLM MCHUGH, Centre Manager, Construct Innovate, reflects on what was an exciting first year for Ireland’s construction technology centre, and he sets out some of the research opportunities for 2024 based on industry feedback from its most recent AIMday event.

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n its first year of operation, Construct Innovate, Ireland’s national research centre for construction technology and innovation, hit the ground running with 18 Seed Fund research projects of nearly €1m total value. The Centre, a partnership between Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, the Irish Green Building Council and its host institution, University of Galway, has a vision to make Ireland a global leader for sustainable construction and built environment technology.

Since its inception, Construct Innovate has welcomed Technological University (TU) Dublin and, most recently, South East Technological University (SETU) and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) as research-performing members. This further deepens the extent of academic expertise that is accessible to industry through the Centre.

To this end, Construct Innovate brings together over 25 multidisciplinary research groups across the partner institutions.

The research focus and activities are informed and directed by the industry members, organisations operating across the construction and built environment sector, who are ideally placed to identify the key challenges to be addressed so the industry can move forward.

The Construct Innovate researchers have a strong track record in research and innovation, with expertise in digital adoption, modern methods of construction, and sustainability, collaborating with over 200 industry partners on innovative and impactful R&D projects worth over €300m between 2017 and 2022.

At its core, Construct Innovate provides opportunities for industry members to engage with and get involved in research, development and innovation (RD&I) through collaboration with the Centre’s research partners under the five pillars of: • Productivity, affordability & cost • Quality & safety • Sustainability • Skills & training • Collaboration Construct Innovate members can access various funding opportunities and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to tackle their specific and industry-wide challenges - from investigating new technologies or emerging industry trends to adapting existing technologies and processes in response to specific constructionrelated challenges. This provides opportunities for the Irish construction sector that is modernising and becoming more sustainable.

The Centre also offers a range of resources and training opportunities to improve industry awareness and education on research and innovation-related topics. One such example is the ongoing Construct Innovate webinar series. Since September 2023, Construct Innovate, with support from Engineers Ireland West Region, has been running weekly online webinars on the most-pressing topics for the construction industry. The completed modules of “Sustainability Planning in Construction” and “Digital Construction Technologies” are now available on the Centre’s website. The third module, “Modern Methods of Construction”, commenced in January 2024 and will be followed by “Innovation & Entrepreneurship”. In total, over 70 industry speakers will have presented across the series.

The impact of Construct Innovate in its first 12 months of

42 irish construction news January/February 2024

Colm McHugh, Centre Manager, Construct Innovate operation is realised through the membership of 60 companies and 8 research performing organisations; €2m in equipment funding secured from Enterprise Ireland to support industry research needs; 10 research projects completed; and 18 project awards to industryacademic partnerships under the Centre’s first Seed Fund Call.

AIMDAYS

Construct Innovate academic-industry meeting day events, or AIMdays, are a vital part of identifying areas for RD&I. AIMdays bring together key stakeholders from the construction industry, academia and research bodies to discuss and workshop industry-led challenges faced by the Irish construction and built environment sector .

In October 2023, Construct Innovate held its second AIMday in Trinity College, Dublin.

It was a really positive event, with over 70 attendees participating across eight separate and distinct workshops, with numerous potential research opportunities identified.

Future AIMdays will continue to develop meaningful research projects that can support industry members as the Irish construction sector transitions to a more modern, sustainable, and productive sector. The next Construct Innovate AIMday is planned for late April 2024, details of which will be available on Construct Innovate website.

The recent AIMday also provided an opportunity for networking and presentations on interesting, exciting and valuable activities happening in the Centre and the wider industry.

Speakers on the day included Pat Barry, CEO, Irish Green Building

S E C TO R F O C U S

Delegates during a Construct Innovate AIMDay workshop.

Council; Martin Searson, Head of MMC Certification, National Standards Authority Ireland; Paul Butler, Director, Enterprise Ireland; and Éadaoin Ní Fhearghail, Architectural Advisor, Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage. All presentations can be listened to on the Construct Innovate website.

AIMDAY WORKSHOPS

Various discussion points emerged from the AIMday workshop sessions. These items are being evaluated by academic and industry members to understand best where the research opportunities lie.

A few already have formed the basis of project applications for our most recent Seed Fund Call.

SKILLS & TRAINING

Discussions arose around the lack of information, awareness and guidance available to organisations in the construction industry across a variety of topics, especially a continuously changing legislative context around sustainability and low carbon construction in the built environment. Our industry needs support to understand these changes and how it will impact organisations across the supply chain. Construct Innovate can work with industry and academic stakeholders to provide skills and training support through research and training.

QUALITY & SAFETY

In the area of quality and safety, workshop discussions identified various challenges from ensuring proper testing and auditing of certified construction products on the Irish market to the environmental safety for the inhabitants of some of our existing building stock.

A common theme in all discussions was the testing of materials and products, from cement products to recycled materials. As with the previous AIMday in May 2023, the availability of test facilities for construction products and systems in Ireland was highlighted as a challenge/barrier to industry efficiency and innovation.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability permeated across all workshops. Some of the critical issues that were identified as needing urgent attention included: • Exploring opportunities for developing existing research around sustainable concrete and cement production and use.

• Large-scale retrofit activities.

• Decarbonisation of construction stage processes.

• Life cycle assessment (LCA) in calculating the environmental impacts of building and infrastructure projects, products and portfolios.

These are all critical areas of interest for the construction and built environment sector in the coming years and research opportunities to support the development of knowledge in these areas will be a key focus of Construct Innovate members.

IN CONCLUSION

Networking plays an important role in generating discussions during Construct Innovate AIMDays. forward to the year ahead. “We will build on the work completed in 2023 as we move forward in 2024. As well as expanding our operational team based at University of Galway to better support members and building research capacity through Construct Innovate innovation researchers, we also plan to expand our range of supports available to members.

I am particularly excited about getting the 18 recently-awarded Seed Fund projects up and running, amounting to nearly €1m in direct funding from the Centre for industry-led and industryfocused research projects.

Research and innovation are at the heart of how the Centre aims to positively impact the Irish construction industry as it transitions to a more productive and sustainable sector. Our projects will be delivered through direct collaboration between our academic and industry members and should have a tangible impact within their organisations and across the wider sector. These projects are where the rubber meets the road, so it’s very exciting for everyone involved in Construct Innovate.”

The Centre plans further events over the course of the year to provide networking and research opportunities for members to develop the ongoing conversations that started in 2023 and stimulate new opportunities.

“The next AIMday in April is just one example of this. This year will be about building on the work we have begun or completed to date and further engaging the wider industry through the delivery of impactful research and supports. We’re looking forward to the challenge.” says McHugh For enquiries about how your organisation can become a member of Construct Innovate, please email info@constructinnovate.ie.

To learn more about upcoming events or view our webinar series to date, visit www. constructinnovate.ie, or scan the QR code

Colm McHugh, Construct Innovate Centre Manager, is looking

irish construction news 43 January/February 2024

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Philip Boucher Hayes; Journalist and Broadcaster; Ian Heptonstall, Director, Supply Chain Sustainability School; and Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Board, Supply Chain Sustainability School, at the launch of the Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland.

Free sustainability training platform launched for the Irish construction industry The Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland is an extensive, free online resource for companies and individuals across the sector to upgrade their sustainable construction skills and knowledge.

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ith its launch in Ireland, the Supply Chain Sustainability School is providing those working at all levels and in all corners of the Irish construction sector with access to a comprehensive range of free education resources developed in the UK over the past 12 years.

Already recognised as a leading learning platform in the UK, the school is now providing free industry-supported training, knowledge sharing, and support for best practices in sustainability that have been adapted, where necessary, for those working in the Irish built environment.

SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY SCHOOL IRELAND

The Irish launch, held at Croke Park, Dublin, was supported by the school’s 16 founding partners. These include the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and key industry stakeholders in semistate bodies, homebuilders, major contractors, manufacturers, and service providers, such as Cairn Homes, ESB, Gas Networks Ireland, Glenveagh, Iarnród Éireann, IPUT Real Estate Dublin, John Sisk & Son, John Paul Construction, Kingspan, Kirby Group, Murphy Group, Roadstone, Saint-Gobain, Skanstec, and Uisce Eireann.

The event brought together industry leaders, highlighting a collaborative effort to advance skills and expertise in construction and related sectors.

In the UK, the Supply Chain Sustainability School boasts a community of over 100,000 registered members and over 200 partners. The school team, instrumental in shaping the UK school’s success, now aims to replicate this achievement in Ireland.

Andrew Wilson, Programmes Manager, Supply Chain Sustainability School, said: “We are delighted to establish a Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland. Building on the success experienced since 2012 in the UK, and working closely with our partners, this initiative will accelerate collaboration to tackle shared industry risks such as climate change, labour shortages and modern slavery.

44 irish construction news January/February 2024

“The Irish school is steadfast in its commitment to providing free learning, fostering knowledge sharing, and encouraging a collaborative approach to tackle key sustainability challenges in the industry. These challenges encompass energy and carbon, sustainable procurement, waste and circular economy, community and social impact, as well as issues such as modern slavery, fairness, inclusion, and respect.”

LEARNING RESOURCES

The school’s learning covers the three core pillars of sustainability: ‘Environmental’, ‘Social’ and ‘Economic’, looking at issues that range from carbon management to combatting modern slavery. It also provides training in a range of other areas, including Digital Tools; Fairness, Inclusion & Respect; Operational Excellence through Lean Thinking; Management; Offsite Construction; People; Procurement; and Retrofitting.

UPSKILLING SUPPLY CHAINS

Shaun McCarthy OBE, chair of the school board, was in Dublin to launch the school in Ireland. Speaking to Irish Construction News, he explained that the school is about sharing knowledge and collaborating.

“The Supply Chain Sustainability School is a collaboration of partners, all with a mutual interest in upskilling their supply chains. With the Irish school, we aim to facilitate the delivery of knowledge and understanding at scale across the sector by working collaboratively.

“We started the original school in the UK in 2012, with seven partners that came together to fund and collaborate around the school. We now have 220 partners, and in the nine months of our financial year to date, we’ve trained over 30,000 people who have engaged in one way or another with our virtual resources.”

He continues: “The first thing to understand about the school is that everything is free of charge. We never ask for money to access our resources, attend our workshops or access our e-learning modules.

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Panel discussion during the launch of the Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland.

“The school is funded by the partners. With increasing legislation and pressure from investors and customers to be more sustainable, we present an opportunity for leading contractors, manufacturers and clients to get on board to build the skills required across their supply chains and move towards more sustainable working practices and thinking.”

At the moment, there are over 300 resources on the Irish school website, but there are over 3,000 on the UK school website. Shaun McCarthy says that as the Irish school gets more partners, they will be able to build more relevant resources for the Irish school.

HOW IT WORKS

The resources comprise a range of sustainable learning assets, from brief videos on a subject to more in-depth learning modules with knowledge tests, workshops, case studies and an extensive library of articles.

Shaun McCarthy continues: “Our sustainability shorts are threeto five-minute videos briefly introducing a topic. These can provide a quick overview of a subject for an individual, or they could be used as the basis for a toolbox talk.

“Learning modules are typically 40 minutes, and learners work their way through the module, completing a test at the end to show their understanding. They can then collect CPD certification and recognition of learning badges.”

“We also have interactive workshops that can run to about three hours. The workshops are more like coaching sessions where experts deep dive into specific fields.

“Finally, we have many other resources, including articles, best practice case studies and tools that can be used to solve sustainability challenges.

“All of our e-learning modules and workshops are accredited for CPD for continuous professional development. So, it is very much a CPD model that we work to.”

CONFIDENTIALITY

The Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland has hit the ground running with many top-tier contractors, suppliers and clients seeing its value to their supply chains and the whole sector.

Confidentiality is a crucial premise of how the school operates.

On signing up, members complete a self-assessment survey to identify resources most appropriate to their needs. These assessments are confidential, and the resources accessed are also confidential.

Individual members can build their own learning record, collecting recognition of learning badges and CPD points on their personalised dashboard, as the software records what learning has been completed.

Company members also complete an assessment to identify key resources to meet their needs, and they can follow the progress of their organisation and use their dashboards to demonstrate to clients how they are improving their sustainability knowledge. They can also complete assessment modules where they can benchmark their staff’s current level of understanding against others in their

Shaun McCarthy, Chair of the Board, Supply Chain Sustainability School, speaking at the launch of the Supply Chain Sustainability School for Ireland. trade and track improvements over time.

Generally, with company memberships, administrators are appointed to manage dashboards. Administrators can allocate specific learning requirements to employees, subcontractors, material providers, etc, and then collect data on what those people are learning.

IRISH SCHOOL PARTNERS

All of the Irish partners were in attendance at the Croke Park launch.

Mark Harmon, Chief Procurement Officer, ESB, commented: “ESB is proud to be a founding partner of the school, which we believe will play a key role in supporting our supply chain partners on our collective sustainability journey by providing tools, resources and learning materials.”

Ellen McKinney, Sustainability Manager, IPUT Real Estate Dublin, said: “The school will support the wider uptake of sustainability training, improving our industry and positively shaping our cities. It will help build on our relationships with our design, construction, and building management teams and create new and lasting partnerships across Irish real estate.”

To learn more or to become a member of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, visit www.supplychainschool.ie or scan the QR code Companies wishing to collaborate with industry peers to shape the school’s development for the Irish built environment industry can learn more about becoming a partner by emailing rick@ supplychainschool.co.uk

irish construction news 45 January/February 2024

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

The Irish Green Building Council: What lies ahead in 2024 IRENE RONDINI, Communications & Marketing Lead, Irish Green Building Council, previews some key campaigns and events the IGBC will coordinate and progress in 2024.

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n 2023, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) had another busy and successful year. The organisation’s main focus was on the implementation of our ‘Building a Zero Carbon Ireland - A Roadmap to Decarbonise Ireland’s Built Environment across its Whole Life Cycle’.

In Ireland, the construction and the built environment are directly responsible for 37% of our national emissions. The IGBC’s roadmap sets recommendations to halve these emissions by 2030 and to fully decarbonise the sector by 2050. So far, 180 companies have endorsed the document, and more than 500 professionals have enrolled for the online on-demand training courses on embodied carbon and life cycle costing facilitated by the IGBC. In 2024, the IGBC will be doing even more to stimulate tangible actions to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment.

MEASURE AND DISCLOSURE: A NATIONAL GLOBAL WARMING POTENTIAL METHODOLOGY FOR IRELAND

Under the proposed revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), starting in 2028, all large new buildings will have to report all life cycle global warming potential (GWP). This requirement will extend to all new buildings by 2030. The requirement is a very positive development, as addressing embodied carbon emissions is vital to reaching our climate targets.

In Ireland, many investors already require whole life carbon (WLC) assessments to provide evidence of green investments in line with the EU Taxonomy, a classification system established to clarify which economic activities are environmentally sustainable and for access to better funding terms. However, without a national methodology and a centralised national database, WLC measurements are not currently comparable.

To address this, the IGBC collaborated with the University of Galway, Construct Innovate and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to develop a national methodology for GWP disclosure in line with the EPBD, the EU framework for Sustainable Building Level(s) and the Standard for Sustainability of Construction Works EN 15978. The methodology includes national product generic and specific default data.

As part of the ongoing INDICATE

46 irish construction news January/February 2024

Irene Rondini, Communications & Marketing Lead, Irish Green Building Council.

INDICATE champions Róisín Cahill, Henry J Lyons Architects (left) and Patrycja Kochaniuk, Scott Tallon Walker Architects (right), with Stephen Barrett, WLC Lead, IGBC. initiative, the IGBC is testing the methodology by applying it to around 50 projects in order to construct a national database of projects that represent the current carbon intensity of buildings in Ireland today. It will serve as a baseline for future targets and improvements. The initial database, kickstarted with support

from IGBC’s members, includes a diverse range of 22 buildings, comprising houses, apartments, student accommodation, warehouses, hotels and office buildings. The aim is to reach 50 buildings within the next three months. INDICATE is a collaborative effort involving Construct Innovate, the SEAI, the Department of Housing and

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y international experts.

Contributors include BDP, Clúid Housing, ECR, Grangegorman Development Agency, Henry J Lyons Architects, Helena McElmeel Architects, MMC Quantity Surveyors, Mulcahy McDonagh & Partners, PM Group, Scott Tallon Walker Architects, University of Galway, Walls Construction Limited, and Wain Morehead Architects. All of these organisations have earned the status of ‘INDICATE Champions’. If you are interested in contributing to national baselines and benchmarks by providing GWP disclosure for your project, visit www.igbc.ie/indicate-champion.

WLC MEASUREMENT FOR CITIES

Measuring whole-life carbon is not only important in designing buildings but also in designing our cities. The IGBC and University College Dublin (UCD) has just launched a guidance document for planners to better address emissions caused by the construction of new housing developments.

More specifically, it shows that significant decreases in carbon emissions could be achieved by rethinking the use of carbon-intensive construction materials in our dwellings and adopting planning approaches that minimise car parking, new roads and infrastructure. The guidance is available at www.igbc.ie/resources/viable-homes-v1

GREEN SKILLS: DEVELOPING A ROADMAP FOR THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Achieving full decarbonisation in our built environment hinges on urgently having the right set of skills in place. A recent study by the Build Up Skills 2030 (BUSI2030) initiative sheds light on a critical need within the construction industry. To meet Ireland’s housing and climate targets, the industry must recruit an additional 120,000 skilled construction workers and re-skill 164,000 existing workers by 2030.

In response to this challenge, the BUSI2030 initiative, a collaboration involving the IGBC, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Laois and Offaly

Left to right: Seamus Hoyne, Technological University of the Shannon (TUS); Trish Flanagan, Construction Industry Federation; Linda Onzule and Sinéad Hughes, Irish Green Building Council; Gloria Callinan, TUS; and Yvonne Foy, Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB), launching the ‘Draft National Upskilling Roadmap’.

Education and Training Board (LOETB), and the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), has created a Sustainability Skills Roadmap for the Built Environment.

Key recommendations from this roadmap include: • The need for a collective and robust effort to cultivate a more effective and efficient construction skills ecosystem, encouraging collaboration and upskilling on a large scale • Making zero emissions building (ZEB) fundamentals training mandatory across the sector to improve quality assurance • Promoting green construction careers through a national campaign to engage individuals in education (primary, secondary, and tertiary levels), the existing workforce, and beyond.

• Initiating a public awareness campaign to spotlight the positive measures that can be adopted to address climate and housing targets.

GOING CIRCULAR: PAVING THE WAY FOR A CIRCULAR FUTURE To cut down on embodied carbon emissions, we not only need to make better use of existing buildings, we must also make better use of materials and avoid unnecessary waste. According to

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Irish construction industry is responsible for over 50% of all Irish waste.

To support the transition from a linear system to a circular economy, the IGBC is currently hosting workshops across Ireland to gather input from key players. The plan is to develop a clear and robust national circular economy roadmap. This roadmap will be launched in October and will outline the steps the construction industry can take to become more circular and, consequently, reduce carbon emissions and waste.

SPOTLIGHT ON POSITIVE ACTIONS: BUILD GREEN NOW CONFERENCE

An essential move in Ireland’s journey towards decarbonisation involves raising awareness on the complex subject of green building and sharing best practices. This crucial focus will take centre stage at the Build Green Now 2024 conference, hosted by the IGBC on 03 May in Croke Park. Over 300 industry leaders will gather in Dublin on that day to delve into the challenges and actions necessary for speeding up the shift to net-zero carbon buildings. If you want to join them, mark the date on your diary and keep an eye on the IGBC website for the full programme and to register.

BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE ADAPTATION

The activities mentioned in this article are just some examples of the IGBC’s exciting plans for 2024. The IGBC will also be diving into biodiversity and climate adaptation.

Over the coming months, high-quality case studies on biodiversity and the built environment will be curated, with more work being carried out to develop recommendations on climate-safe homes.

Delegates at the Build Green Conference 2023.

For information on any of the initiatives and programmes mentioned in this article, visit www.igbc.ie

irish construction news 47 January/February 2024

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

EU agreement reached on changes to Energy Performance of Buildings Directive The revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive has been designed to upgrade on a gradual scale the energy ratings of every building in the European Union and reduce the energy use of older buildings across the EU.

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n December, the EU Commission welcomed the provisional agreement on changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) reached between the European Parliament and the European Council to reduce the emissions and energy use of buildings across the EU. In January, members of the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee followed the December agreement by passing the EPBD with 37 votes in favour, 20 against and six abstentions. The plan had met resistance from some EU countries, particularly ones with older housing stock.

This vote has opened the way for a full plenary vote, most likely in March, which will complete the ratification process on the directive amendments. The EPBD will then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in April or May, with the enactment date two years after the official publication date.

The revised rules aim to ensure that by 2030, all new buildings in the EU are zero-emission structures, and by 2050, existing building stock will undergo a transformation into zero-emission buildings. The measure is a part of the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to decrease the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, reaching carbon-neutral status by 2050.

Commenting on the agreement, Maroš

48 irish construction news January/February 2024

Šefčovič, EU Executive Vice-President for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, said: “To succeed in the green transition, we need to make sure that the transformation changes people’s lives for the better. We want to help people to make their homes more energy efficient, more comfortable and healthy.

This is a win-win for citizens: Improving the energy performance of buildings will result in both lower energy bills and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement strikes the right balance with European standards, national implementation, individual autonomy and financial support.”

BACKGROUND TO EPBD REVISIONS

Buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of EU energy consumption, more than half of EU gas consumption (mainly through heating, cooling and domestic hot water), and 36% of the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. At present, about 35% of the EU’s buildings are over 50 years old, and almost 75% of the building stock is energy inefficient. At the same time, the average annual energy renovation rate is only about 1%.

In 2020, the Commission presented its Renovation Wave strategy as part of the European Green Deal, with the revision of the EPBD being a key initiative. As

set out in the Renovation Wave strategy, the Commission aims to at least double renovation rates by 2030 and make sure renovations lead to higher energy efficiency and more renewables in buildings. The Commission’s proposal to revise the EPBD in December 2021 was further supplemented by additional elements on the deployment of solar energy on buildings as part of the REPowerEU plan in May 2022.

The strengthened EPBD will support the EU’s efforts to decarbonise buildings across the whole Union. This is an area in which the concrete impact of the European Green Deal will improve the quality of life for people in their homes and workplaces and lower their energy bills. This deal will also boost Europe’s energy independence in line with the REPowerEU plan and make a strong business case for a cleaner buildings sector in the EU.

BETTER-PERFORMING BUILDINGS TO LOWER ENERGY BILLS AND CUT EMISSIONS

The revised EPBD will set out a range of measures that will help EU governments boost structurally the energy performance of buildings, with a specific focus on the worst-performing buildings.

Each member state will adopt its own national trajectory to reduce the average primary energy use of residential buildings by 16% by 2030 and 20-22% by 2035,

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y allowing for sufficient flexibility to take into account national circumstances.

Member states can choose which buildings to target and which measures to take.

National measures will have to ensure that at least 55% of the decrease in average primary energy use is achieved through the renovation of the worst-performing buildings.

For non-residential building stock, the revised rules require gradual improvement via minimum energy performance standards. This will lead to renovating the 16% worst-performing buildings by 2030 and the 26% worst-performing buildings by 2033.

Member states will have the possibility to exempt certain categories of residential and non-residential buildings from these obligations, including historical buildings or holiday homes.

Improved Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be based on a common EU template with common criteria to better inform citizens and make financing decisions across the EU easier.

To fight energy poverty and bring down energy bills, financing measures will have to incentivise and accompany renovations and be targeted particularly at vulnerable customers and worst-performing buildings, in which a higher share of energy-poor households live.

Member states will also have to ensure that there are safeguards for tenants to help tackle the risk of eviction of vulnerable households caused by disproportionate rent increases following a renovation.

TRIGGERING A RENOVATION WAVE

The revised EPBD contains measures to improve both the strategic planning of renovations and the tools to ensure such renovations will happen. Under the agreed provisions, member states will: • Establish national Building Renovation Plans to set out the national strategy to decarbonise their building stock and how to address remaining barriers, such as financing, training and attracting more skilled workers.

• Set up national building renovation passport schemes to guide building owners in their staged renovations towards zero-emission buildings.

• Establish one-stop shops for homeowners, SMEs, and all actors in the renovation value chain to receive dedicated and independent support and guidance.

CLIMATE-NEUTRALITY GOALS

Speaking in December, Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy, commented: “Improving the energy performance of buildings is vital for reaching our

Irish MEPs and Industry, Research & Energy Committee rapporteurs Sean Kelly and Ciaran Cuffe with Bulgarian MEP Tsvetelina Penkova following the EU parliament adoption of measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings across the EU. ambition of climate-neutrality and will bring concrete benefits to our citizens.

Renovations are investments into a better future. They will improve quality of life, allow people to invest their savings elsewhere, and boost our economy. I trust this agreement will spur a renovation wave across the whole Union while respecting the diversity of the EU’s building stock.”

PHASING OUT OF FOSSIL-FUEL BOILERS

The new EPBD deal will help the EU phase out boilers powered by fossil fuels.

Subsidies for the installation of standalone boilers powered by fossil fuels will not be allowed as of 01 January 2025. The revised directive introduces a clear legal basis for member states to set requirements for heat generators based on greenhouse gas emissions, the type of fuel used, or the minimum share of renewable energy used for heating. Member states will also have to set out specific measures on the phase-out of fossil fuels in heating and cooling with a view to a complete phase-out of boilers powered by fossil fuels by 2040.

Speaking in December, Wopke Hoekstra, EU Commissioner for Climate Action, commented: “In a climate-neutral Europe, we need to be able to heat and cool our homes and buildings with minimum emissions. We have the technologies to do this, but we need to create a stronger business case to boost energy-efficient renovations. The new EPBD will help mobilise additional finance and boost construction value chains. Together we can help homeowners and businesses renovate to save money and prepare for a net-zero future.”

THE RIGHT TO PLUG

The EPBD deal will also boost the take-up of sustainable mobility thanks to provisions on pre-cabling recharging points for electric vehicles and bicycle parking spaces.

Pre-cabling will become the norm for new and renovated buildings, thus facilitating

access to recharging infrastructure and contributing to the EU’s climate ambition.

In addition, there will be strengthened requirements on the number of recharging points in both residential and nonresidential buildings. Member states will also have to remove barriers to the installation of recharging points to ensure that the ‘right to plug’ becomes a reality. Overall, recharging points will have to enable smart charging and, where appropriate, bi-directional charging.

Finally, the provisions will ensure that there are sufficient parking spaces for bicycles, including cargo bikes.

ZERO EMISSIONS STANDARD FOR NEW BUILDINGS

The revised directive will make zero emissions the standard for new buildings.

Under the agreement, all new residential and non-residential buildings must have zero on-site emissions from fossil fuels.

This will be the case as of 01 January 2028 for publicly-owned buildings and as of 01 January 2030 for all other new buildings, with a possibility for specific exemptions.

Member states will also have to ensure that new buildings are solar-ready, meaning they have to be fit to host rooftop photovoltaic or solar thermal installations.

Installing solar energy installations will become the norm for new buildings.

For existing public and non-residential buildings, solar will need to be gradually installed, starting from 2027, where this is technically, economically and functionally feasible. Such provisions will come into force at different points in time depending on the building type and size.

NEXT STEPS

The provisional agreement now requires formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council. Once this process is completed, the new legislation will be published in the Official Journal of the Union and enter into force.

irish construction news 49 January/February 2024

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

EuroACE EU industry association welcomes EU EPBD agreement but is disappointed by its lack of ambition Adrian Joyce, Secretary General, EuroACE, speaks with ROBBIE COUSINS about why he believes the EU will have to revisit the newly amended Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to achieve its own carbon reduction targets.

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stablished in 1998 by industry leaders involved in the manufacture, distribution, and installation of energy-saving goods, equipment, and services in Europe, EuroACEEnergy Efficient Buildings works with European institutions to help move the EU towards efficient use of energy in buildings. The body represents manufacturers such as Kingspan, Saint-Gobain, Velux, Knauf Insulation Rockwool, Daikin Europe, Autodesk and Schneider Electric.

Adrian Joyce, Secretary General, EuroACE, is an architect from Ireland. He was appointed secretary general of EuroACE in 2011.

Joyce is also the director of the Renovate Europe campaign, a political communications campaign aiming to reduce the energy demand of EU building stock by 80% by 2050. In these roles, he has worked with stakeholders in the Irish construction industry, including the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC).

ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS DIRECTIVE

EuroACE members were closely monitoring the EU tripartite discussions on amendments to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), with a particular interest in the implications of the changes on the renovation of existing building stock.

Adrian Joyce says his members welcome the agreement on EPBD amendments that has been reached but added that they are disappointed with its lack of ambition, commenting that it will take over two years for the directive to be transposed at member state level, which will make it mid-2026 before member states will have introduced it into their legislation.

“It is a good and a bad deal,” Adrian Joyce comments. “We’re very happy that a deal has been struck. It means crucial new elements will be introduced into the EPBD, but we feel the ambition level is

50 irish construction news January/February 2024

too low and does not reflect the effort that is going to be needed to move forward. For instance, for the renovation of existing building stock, at some point in the future, the directive will have to be revisited and amended to really have an impact.”

Under the agreed amendments to the directive, which still has to complete the EU ratification process, each member state will adopt its own national trajectory to reduce the average primary energy use of residential buildings by 16% by 2030 and 20-22% by 2035, allowing for sufficient flexibility to take into account national circumstances. Member states are free to choose which buildings to target and which measures to take.”

MINIMUM ENERGY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Under the changes, national measures will have to ensure that at least 55% of the decrease in average primary energy use in residential buildings is achieved through the renovation of the worst-performing buildings.

Commenting on this, Joyce says: “On the positive side, public and non-residential buildings are going to be subjected to minimum energy performance standards. This is a good achievement because it covers about 25% of the building stock that can be moved on at roughly the right level of ambition. For these buildings, 16% of the worst-performing buildings will have to be renovated by 2030 and 26% by 2035 under the changes contained in the agreement.

“On the residential side, member states have a lot of flexibility, but they must make savings against the average performance of all residential buildings. So, they will have to improve the overall average performance of residential buildings over the same time period. The percentages to be achieved are lower, and the approach to be taken is not clear because it has not been set at EU level.

Instead, it is at the discretion of each member state to decide in their own context what the best approach is.

S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y “The one restriction set for the residential sector is that 55% of the savings have to come from the worst-performing buildings, and that’s now defined in the directive as the 43% lowest-performing buildings in residential stock.”

A RAPID MEMBER STATE TRANSPOSITION IS NEEDED

Stepping away from the detail of the amendments, Adrian Joyce says that it is important that there is a rapid transposition of the directive at member-state level as the timelines are very tight.

“We hope to see a rapid transposition of the directive, one where the member states don’t lag in adopting it. We expect it will take two years for the transposition process to be completed, and that is not a great message when we’ve got such a stringent 2030 target of a 55% reduction of greenhouse gases.”

NATIONAL BUILDING RENOVATION PLANS

EuroACE is involved in several EU-funded projects to develop guidelines and policy toolkits to help member states transpose the directive more quickly and “Get it right the first time”.

Adrian Joyce explains: “During the transition period, our members would like to see coherent, well-thought-through National Building Renovation Plans, the new name for long-term renovation strategies. These plans must be more concrete and realistic to be realistically achievable. We can help with what those plans should contain, and we ask that member-state governments consult with industry, NGOs, local authorities and community groups so people can take ownership of the plans and won’t feel that the new rules are being imposed on them.

“If governments do not act until 2026, when the directive will be fully transposed, it would be at least another year before plans are developed and put in place, which is far too late for the directive’s goals to be achieved. EuroACE is working towards helping member states during the transposition period to ensure that plans are in place before the mid-2026 transposition deadline.”

Adrian Joyce, Secretary General, EuroACE

RENOVATION PASSPORTS

Adrian Joyce welcomes the fact that the directive sets out that member states will have to introduce voluntary schemes for residential buildings to have renovation passports.

“The directive has a requirement that member states introduce ‘voluntary schemes’ for renovation passports for residential buildings. This is a positive move because it is stronger than what was there before. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as far as making the schemes mandatory. Countries that have been using passports to date see the value of them. EuroACE is promoting the merit of renovation passports and encouraging other member states to follow suit.”

EUROACE ENGAGEMENT

The EuroACE association engages in several ways with memberstate governments. In Ireland, it has co-organised half-day or one-day implementation workshops with local partners, such as the IGBC or SEAI. It provides experts with a working knowledge of topics and knowledge at a European level and invites industry and government stakeholders to attend. These workshops include presentations and round-table discussions. EuroACE intends to organise an EPBD event in Ireland during 2024, where it will set out how it believes the government and industry should prepare for the new EPBD.

FINANCING EPBD CHANGES

Adrian Joyce believes that financial support attached to the amended EPBD is an essential element that stakeholders should be fully cognisant of and monitor over the coming months.

“I don’t think we should discuss the EPBD without talking about financing. In Article 15 of the directive, there is mention of the need

for more balanced and structured financing to be available. In other words, legislators are putting the means behind the requirements.

“There is a mention of what is called a ‘delegated act’. The European Commission will have to prepare a delegated act to be agreed on by the EU Parliament and EU Council. This delegated act would describe financial instruments that must be put in place to help EU citizens carry out work in their homes or their small businesses or enterprises to upgrade their premises.”

A new concept for the building sector to be introduced in the directive is ‘mortgage portfolio standards’.

Adrian Joyce explains: “Mortgage portfolio standards look to be a very promising instrument, whereby banks would be required to improve the overall energy performance of a portfolio of buildings on which they hold mortgages. We believe this will incentivise banks to devise new products, which should make it much easier to finance renovations. We think it should be as easy to get a renovation loan as it is to get a car loan.”

IN CONCLUSION

In closing, Adrian Joyce says that while the timing is tight and there will be a need for a review, he accepts that getting a pan-EU agreement on the directive was very challenging.

“I think the newly amended EPBD is balanced in the sense that there are requirements, but there are also enabling conditions and financing as part of the overall package.

“We’re delighted to see that the overall architecture of the proposal is in place and look forward to working with EU memberstate governments to help them transition to a new era of ensuring the sustainable, energy-efficient development of new and existing buildings,” he concludes.

irish construction news 51 January/February 2024

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Ford Pro reveals all-new Transit Connect with PHEV power

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ord Pro has unveiled its all-new Transit Connect compact van, completing the brand’s new-generation line-up of highproductivity electrified Transit commercial vehicles in Europe.

Advanced, efficient powertrains include the first Transit Connect plug-in hybrid, which offers businesses a targeted 110km electric range, as well as both AC and DC fast charging capability.

Customers benefit from enhanced carrying capacity and capability with load volumes up to 3.7 cubic metres and a transformative new seating concept for Kombi models. Additional premium features include a connected digital cockpit and Transit Connect’s broadestever suite of advanced driver assistance systems.

Whether a small business or a city-based fleet, Transit Connect operators can accelerate their productivity through Ford Pro support, including software, servicing and flexible finance plans, as well as a dedicated fleet solution for telematics.

Hans Schep, General Manager, Ford Pro, Europe, commented about the Transit Connect: “Over the past two years, we’ve electrified the Transit family to help every kind of customer accelerate their productivity and electrify their business. Our all-new Transit Connect is another key step in that mission. Transit Connect’s new plug-in hybrid offering, high-tech interior and support from Ford Pro pack serious, hard-working appeal into a stylish and compact body.”

As the third generation of Ford Pro’s popular Transit Connect compact van, the new model forms part of Ford Pro’s strongest-ever compact van line-up, along with the all-new Transit Courier and the forthcoming electric E-Transit Courier.

Transit Connect enters production in spring 2024, with initial deliveries of the diesel van scheduled for summer this year as part of a phased launch plan. Transit Connect plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) will join the range before the end of the year, with Kombi models completing the line-up in early 2025.

Passive EcoWall®: A low-carbon building solution for Passive House walls and roofs

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arbon emissions associated with the construction and operation of the Irish built environment account for over a third of Ireland’s emissions (37%).

More specifically, buildings’ heating, cooling, and lighting accounts for 23% of Ireland’s national emissions, while the remaining 14% accounts for embodied emissions. This 14% is often categorised as the emissions “blind spot” of the construction industry.

Addressing whole-life carbon (WLC) emissions in the built environment is critical to meeting the Irish government’s ambitious target of halving national emissions by 2030 under the Climate Action Act, now enshrined in law.

It is crucial to reduce operational emissions and target embodied emissions efficiently using building methods and materials with a lower embodied impact to achieve this.

Recognising this challenge, Ecological Building Systems developed the Passive EcoWall® concept. This offers exceptional thermal efficiency, surpassing nZEB requirements and employs carefully chosen materials with lower, sometimes even neutral, carbon emissions.

Passive EcoWall® provides a complete

52 irish construction news January/February 2024

low-energy, diffusion-open building concept based on low-energy, tried and tested Passivhaus principles. It features Gutex woodfibre natural insulation, Finsa Superpan VapourStop airtight vapour barrier racking boards, and the Pro Clima Intelligent airtightness system.

In Ireland, several certified Passivhaus homes and modular buildings have been constructed using the system and demonstrated reduced energy usage and increased comfort. The specification can also include Thermafleece Sheepswool or Thermo Hemp Combi Jute, a natural insulation made from upcycled hemp and jute fibres. Passive EcoWall® combines energy efficiency, safety from condensation and moisture issues, low embodied energy, comfort with natural materials and a reduced carbon footprint.

As structural elements are sealed more effectively than ever to achieve higher levels of airtightness, moisture management is crucial, especially in our damp climate.

In contrast to many conventional wall systems, Passive EcoWall® incorporates an external insulation layer of Gutex woodfibre boards. These offer excellent thermal and acoustic insulation and are highly vapour diffusion open (breathable), allowing

structural elements to dry out rapidly and completely. Additionally, the internal Superpan VapourStop boards enhance onsite efficiency, lower installation costs, and establish a continuous internal airtight seal using Pro Clima tapes. This comprehensive approach reduces the risk of interstitial condensation.

To learn more about Passive EcoWall®, visit www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/solutions/ passive-house

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