On Wednesday, September 27, Guaranteed Irish hosted its annual construction forum in which a panel of industry experts convened to discuss ‘Is Construction in Ireland Sustainable? – Can we really ‘green build’ our way out of this housing crisis?'

Opened by junior enterprise minister Dara Calleary, a panel of industry experts were invited to discuss solutions to housing, national infrastructure, and planning regulations.

L-R: Niall O'Connor, managing director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland; Lawrence Bowles, associate director KPMG, future analytics; Hugh Wallace, award-winning architect and RTE presenter; Patrick Phelan, managing director, Ballymore Group; and James Nugent, senior director, head of commercial agency, Lisney.

The panel included Niall O'Connor, managing director, Kingspan Insulation Ireland; Lawrence Bowles, associate director KPMG, future analytics; Patrick Phelan, managing director, Ballymore Group; and James Nugent, senior director, head of commercial agency, Lisney.

Momentum in home building

Dara Calleary, junior enterprise minister, gave a keynote address. He highlighted the momentum in home building and was optimistic in meeting the housing target of 29,000 homes this year. He said that the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in public housing along with R&D will be a game changer for delivering our housing requirements faster.

Hosted by Hugh Wallace, award-winning architect and RTE presenter, Lawrence Bowles, KPMG, addressed the question on the 2050 Energy Performance Building Directive plans to build a carbon-neutral building stock. Each building must have an A rating.

He said: “The real estate industry needs to fully embrace the new reality, which is not just net zero, but also nature positive. The climate and nature agenda are going to have a very material impact on all future infrastructure including buildings – however a long-term approach for our construction infrastructure with a masterplan beyond successive governments will be necessary.

Niall O’Connor, Kingspan Insulation, replied to the question: “These ambitious targets are absolutely necessary since together, the building materials/construction sector and building operations account for almost 40% of carbon emissions.

"They present an enormous opportunity for the sector to raise industry standards, increase collaboration between design and construction, and in particular drive growth in Retrofit. However, there is a significant shortage of qualified people in this sector and there is a need to employ more than 25,000 people."

Wallace asked the panel as to whether we are creating ‘boring cities’ that lead to social problems. He asked of the panel how they, in the construction industry, aim to eliminate the ‘the architectural blandness’ of our cities.

'We think too small'

James Nugent MD, Lisney, responded to the question: "I believe part of the problem is that we think too small. We tend to look at an individual planning application for a single site. That building or scheme must comply with planning requirements, sometimes with little regard for the surrounding area. To plan cities or urban areas properly, there needs to be a more cohesive view or vision of what we want the city or urban area to be like.”

Patrick Phelan, managing director, Ballymore, gave his perspective from those who wish to dwell in these potential new homes. “It is important that in creating buildings, places, and spaces that we consider the people who will use them.

"Places that have been considered in terms of landscaping, protection from the elements and which have animation at street level – these spaces will be successful and won’t be boring.  

"Buildings, places, and cities should be sociable environments where people want to gather, visit, and stay. This should be the starting point for the industry and where the focus should be. The emphasis should be on cultured and educational facilities, on creating community engagement, not just a design."

The concept of 15-minute cities was explored noting that Waterford is leading the way with the development of the North Quays. A call for additional incentives to do the same at a faster pace should be put in place across the country, especially in higher density locations such as Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Dublin.

Other issues addressed

Several other issues were also addressed that led to some unanimous suggestions from the panel.

• We need to build up, not out, in our cities; like what is done across Europe.
• We need to incentivise the repurposing of our existing housing in our cities.
• The building of new homes needs to be made up of more recycling materials, preferably supplied by Irish companies. Government incentives are needed to develop this sector to help these companies be more competitive.
• We need to significantly increase the pace of the planning process, by reducing the bureaucracy within the planning process.

Attendees at the event also heard about GuaranteedIrishHouse.ie a portal to drive business to Irish manufacturers for specifiers such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors.