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Go to Civic and Public Projects
Spiritual Care Centre,
Dzogchen Beara, Co. CorkA core project within the Tibetan Buddhist community at Beara. The spiritual care centre will provide a place where those that are sick, bereaved or dying can stay in an environment of spiritual practise and natural beauty.
Status: Completed 2008
Wetland Environment Centre:
Ballybay, Co. MonaghanThe wetland environment centre is the first building within the Nature Station masterplan conceived by Solearth for the 65 acre farm and wetland area in Co Monaghan. It provides a new restaurant, seminar rooms and support facilities for the experiencing and studying of wetlands and migratory birds. It's designed to re-use the material from existing sheds and incorporates a microcosm wetland in an old silage pit. The building features low embodied energy, highly insulative, and healthy materials- solar thermal and hydrothermal heating systems as well as natural water treatment facilities. Winner of Green Awards Green Building of Year 2008
Status: Completion Spring 2008
Rehan Factory
Carnew, Co. WicklowA light industrial building for the manufacture of visual aids for computer hardware, Rehan set a brief which encompassed maximising day-lighting, healthy materials of low-embodied energy and waste water treatment. At a later stage a biofuel generator will be incorporated to deal with the electrical demand of the manufacturing process. From a constructional stand-point the use of round-wood timber trusses to span the assembly and storage spaces has been the major challenge and the building's defining feature. It is understood that this is the first time that such a construction technique has been utilised in Ireland and it is hoped that it will become a prototype for green factory building in this country and the UK.
Status: Completed 2008
Castle Espie Wildlife and Wetland Visitor Centre
Comber, Co Down, Northern IrelandThe challenge for the architect was to marry the domestic scale and intimacy of the retained buildings with a new form that gave a stronger identity, to improve the facilities and provide for greater entrance visibility to the Centre.
A new east-west linear building in the form of a long Great Hall replaces an awkwardly positioned shed and connects each of the remaining buildings. This Hall provides the new entrance facilities, shop, event space and café. Its cranked roof form is both functional and architectonic: it responds to the domestic scale of the south facing courtyards and existing buildings whilst rising to give a strong presence to the north and the view across the ponds to Strangford Lough. The lower roof section on the north side defines more intimate spaces within the café and service spaces adjacent to the shop and entrance. Three external spaces are defined in the proposal: the arrivals courtyard with threshold pool, the paved courtyard for the café and to the west the lawn of the event space.
Status: Completion Summer 2009
The Emerald Project
Ballymun, Dublin 18
The Emerald Project is a community housing project that will demonstrate advances in ecological and healthy living in the exciting urban regeneration project in Ballymun Dublin. Conceived by The Emerald Housing Co-operative with partners CLUID Housing Association will be Irelands most ecologically advanced housing community. Solearth are bringing the best and most appropriate techniques in consultative planning to create an integrated project designed around solar site design, passive ecological design measures and a host of active energy efficient and ecological technologies to create a community that will be carbon neutral in terms of heating, will cleanse it's grey water and grow some of its own food. A solar car-co-op is also mooted. Ballymun Regeneration LTD and Sustainable Energy Ireland are patrons and supporters of the project
Status; Construction Commenced Spet 2009, Completion 2011
The Daintree Building
Ecological & Holistic Living Complex
Pleasant's Place, Dublin 8A mixed use building comprising a shop, workshop, café and apartments in the centre of Dublin. The project introduces a sustainable choice of materials including a multi-storey timber structure, green roofs and breathing timber walls with sheep's wool insulation, whilst utilising the sun's energy through solar thermal panels and the earth's warmth through a geo-thermal heat pump. Rainwater is reused in the building and all finishes are healthy and organic. This project won The Building Design Prize in the SEI Sustainable Energy Awards 2005.
Status: Completed November 2005.
Bakery and Volunteer Accommodation.
Ballytobin, Co. Kilkenny
This project creates a working centre for the community through co-locating many food facilities, bakery, a food store and dairy as well as some accommodation on the site of an old barn in the community. The design explores issues of passive solar design, environmental conditioning and community identity making as well as a number of innovative low embodied energy construction methods.Status: Completion Spring 2008
Spiritual Retreat Centre
Co. Kildare
Solais Bhride is an education and retreat centre dedicated to the teachings and memory of St Brigit-Ireland's only female saint. It comprises exhibition and hospitality areas, teaching and workshop spaces, hermitages and some residential facilities. The design creates zones that vary from worldy to sacred in character and uses, the feminine shapes and invoked by Brigits copperwork and making visual links between the main spaces in the building, Brigits cathedral and the holy well. It is exemplary in its low energy design, and makes use of passive systems, ecological design and it places a high priority of the creation of a healthful and restful environment for its users and visitors. The landscape will be composed of feature and contemplative gardens using native species wildflower meadows and Irish woodland planting.
Status: Granted Planning
Ballytobin Kindergarten for Camphill Communities Ireland
Ballytobin, Co. Kilkenny
This low budget project attempts to expand and upgrade an existing 'shed' building. It features low energy building and passive solar techniques and explores issues of healthful building and stimulating use of colour and form to create a child centred, stimulating and safe environment.
Status: Services complete 2007.
Equestrian Centre
Finglas, Dublin 11A community project on the edge of Dublin with stabling, indoor arena and public facilities. The design form follows the flow of food and wastes within the complex. Reed beds will deal with some of the waste from both the centre and to clean the stream of industrial waste.
Status: On Hold.
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