Better Homes is back —an unmissable chance to network with industry professionals. Meet up, make connections and redefine housing for climate challenges!

With a worsening climate crisis and with much of climate change already locked in, our homes need to be built to adapt over the next 50 years. What will we need to consider in the design of new homes?

With Home Performance Index growing rapidly what are the benefits of using the system?

At this year’s Better Homes, we are looking at the role of planning and development standards including roads and networks in mitigating costs and carbon. We will be launching a report on the impacts of different development typologies.

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SCHEDULE

    SPEAKERS

Julie Clarke is an Assistant Professor in Engineering in Climate Action in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering at Trinity College Dublin. Her research focuses on vulnerability and risk modelling for the built environment and critical infrastructure networks due to climate change impacts. She has led several national and international research projects developing risk assessment methodologies for buildings and transport infrastructure networks due to climate change impacts to inform adaptation planning. Julie is a Chartered Engineer with Engineers Ireland.

Oliver Kinnane is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy at UCD, and the academic lead of the Building in a Climate Emergency Research Lab there. He is the founder of the MSc in Architecture, Urbanism and Climate Action. His research is focused on building construction, conservation and operation, and improving the performance of the built environment at large. He has written over 100 peer-reviewed published articles on these topics. Oliver is leading the Whole Life Carbon in the Irish Construction Sector and Built Environment study with Dr Richard O’Hegarty for the Irish Green Building Council.

Gillian Brady is an Assistant Lecturer at ATU Sligo and PhD candidate at the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, UCD where she is examining housing preferences and the resilience of low-rise, low-density suburban models. She has previously worked for Níall McLaughlin Architects, M.CO and the Office of
Public Works.

Simon Keogh is a Senior Architect with COADY and co-leads COADY’s Sustainability Charter + Roadmap. Kilbride Court obtained the first and currently only Gold Certificate for multi units (40 low rise) under IGBC’s Home Performance Index and received multiple national awards. The project was case studied in Passive House + Issue 40 and as an exemplar project in WGBC Sustainable and Affordable Housing Report . The Post Occupancy Evaluation analysis in Operational Energy and Indoor Air Quality will shortly be case studied in Passive House+. Simon is a member of the RIAI Sustainability Task Force which delivered the RIAI Climate Challenge 2030 and the RIAI Climate Challenge – An Architects Guide. He is a member of the IGBC HPI Audit Committee and the Design4Zero. Technical Committee to guide the industry towards rapid change

Dr Seán O’Leary is a Senior Planner with the Irish Planning Institute, the all-island professional membership body for spatial planners, where he leads on policy, research and education. Previously, he has worked in the public sector on climate adaptation and resilience policy. He is the author of ‘Sense of Place – A History of Irish Planning’ and also lectures in planning, sustainability, and climate policy at UCC.

Justyna Banasik, the first Head of Sustainability of Allianz in Ireland. She brings more than 16 years of industry experience in portfolio underwriting and customer functions to the position. Justyna Banasik oversees the implementation of the Allianz sustainability strategy across all functions of the business with a particular focus on climate change and the environment. She will lead the development of decarbonisation roadmaps for Allianz Ireland’s insurance portfolios in addition to the company’s operations and investment portfolios.

Charlie Conlan’s professional expertise in product design and manufacturing methods converges with his passion for nature’s complexity, inspiring a holistic approach that integrates Design, Art, Engineering, and Science to drive sustainability and environmental stewardship. His responsibilities include ESG development, Group Carbon mapping, Embodied Carbon mapping, Industry research and Project Management.

Darragh Lennon has extensive leadership experience in financial services and corporate finance. He spent the past 13 years in KBC Bank Ireland where he led the Corporate and Commercial Banking division, the Mortgage Arrears Support Unit and latterly the Distribution and commercial functions of the Retail and SME Bank, including leading the transitioning of KBC Current Account customers as part of the bank’s wind down. Prior to KBC, Darragh spent a number of years working in Corporate Finance and Private Equity with a focus on real estate development and investment establishing and leading the Corporate Finance department of MKO Partners. Darragh holds a degree in Economics from UCD and is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Stephen O’Shea is the Design Manager for Preconstruction & Delivery for Cairn Homes and a Technical representative to the company ESG Team. An architect by profession with a Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design) postgrad from TU Dublin, now focussing on delivering robust, low-carbon homes in neighbourhoods which prioritise quality of life and biodiversity.

Neil Mclean Goring, a Scottish native, is a landscape architect who has spent the last decade based in Copenhagen, specializing in climate adaptation, with projects across Scandinavia, the UK, US, China, and Australia. As the lead designer for blue-green infrastructure at Ramboll’s climate adaptation division, he played a key role in developing the acclaimed Copenhagen Cloudburst Plans.

Philip Comerford is a studio tutor in architecture at UCD, currently teaching a research unit in housing design. He is also an architect in private practice, specialising in bespoke residential developments and planning consultancy. He has previously worked as an architect in several offices in Ireland and Europe, including for Grafton Architects and Derek Tynan Architects in Dublin. He is currently undertaking doctoral research in UCD on the carbon impacts of new housing developments, as part of a funded research project to promote low-carbon, compact urban growth in Ireland.

David Feighery is the Sustainability Lead for Cundall in Dublin. He is a Chartered Engineer with over 22 years of experience in Building Services and Sustainability Consultancy within Ireland and internationally. Currently, David is involved in projects focusing on campus-level Net Zero Carbon Pathways and Designing for Future Climatic Conditions for both Domestic and Commercial Projects.

Neil Higgins, Senior Executive Engineer in the Drainage Planning and Development Control Section in the Environment and Transportation Department, Dublin City Council

SPONSORS

Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Saint-Gobain in Ireland consists of Gyproc and Isover.

ISOVER has a long and proud history of supplying market-leading insulation solutions in Ireland for over 40 years. ISOVER seeks to develop and supply complete insulation solutions to guarantee the thermal and acoustic comfort of Irish homes and businesses. We provide an unrivalled service to the many thousands of specifiers, contractors and off-site manufacturers throughout Ireland. www.isover.ie

Gyproc is the market leader in plaster, plasterboard and drylining systems in Ireland; manufacturing in Ireland since 1936. Over the years, Gyproc has become a major authority in Irish construction providing innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions that meet the demands of the local construction industry. www.gyproc.ie

Ecological Building Systems ethos is to achieve ‘Better Building’ by adopting a ‘Fabric First’ approach to design, with the use of more natural materials to optimise building performance and durability. They deliver quality products with full technical support. Ecological Building Systems was set up in Athboy, County Meath, Ireland in 2000, the UK division was established in 2007 and is based near Carlisle in Cumbria. Ecological’s parent company is MacCann & Byrne, a family-owned company steeped in history having been established on the same premises in Athboy since 1906.

EXHIBITORS

Aereco develops innovative ventilation solutions for residential and office buildings with a key concept: the modulation of airflow rates according to the needs. Several lines of products can be implemented in various systems, from natural and hybrid ventilation to MEV and MVHR. www.aereco.ie

Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) was incorporated in December 2018, to provide funding at market rates for commercially viable residential developments across the State, as part of a wider response to Ireland’s housing supply shortage. To June 2023 HBFI had approved over €1.44bn of funding for 6,357 homes in 117 developments across 22 counties. www.hbfi.ie

Unilin Insulation – formerly Xtratherm – is one of the largest Irish manufacturers and suppliers of insulation. The company has a 30-plus-year history of working in partnership with Irish construction professionals to close the gap between design and as-built performance.  www.unilininsulation.ie

What to expect? Watch the video to get some highlights from last year