Seán Armstrong, Advisor – Building Standards, DECLG
Seán is a Chartered Engineer with an Masters in Engineering. He is responsible for the development of Part L of Building Regulations and the implementation of Recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in DECLG. He has 25 years experience in engineering and construction in both private and public sector. He represents DECLG and Ireland on a range of standards committees and EU working groups related to energy efficient buildings. He also has experience in quality assurance processes and lean management approaches.
Marion Baeli
Marion Baeli qualified from Paris Belleville School of Architecture (France) in 2001, UCL Bartlett School of Architecture Part III / ARB (UK) in 2003 and UEL School of Architecture MA Sustainability and Design in 2010. Her passion for sustainability and low energy design led Marion to take part and win a contract as part of a government competition, Retrofit for the Future, which in turn led to the delivery of the award winning Princedale Road project, the first certified Passivhaus retrofit in the UK. Marion also co-heads Paul Davis + Partners ‘green group’, which focuses on creating a practice specialism and ensures that sustainability is integral to all of the practice’s designs. As well as this, Marion lectures on the subject of energy efficient retrofits in the UK and abroad, such as the UK Passivhaus Conference, and at institutions such as PLEA, the University of Naples (Federico II), the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association.
Pat Barry – IGBC
Pat Barry is Executive director of the Irish Green Building Council which he co-founded in 2010. He is an Architect with over 20 years of experience in Ireland, Europe and South America, a Masters in Environmental design of buildings from University of Cardiff and is a qualified Passive House and DGNB consultant.
Vivienne Brophy
Vivienne Brophy, qualified as an architectural technologist and architect, has long-term experience in architectural practice in the design, construction, and site supervision of buildings. Vivienne left architectural practice to join the UCD Energy Research Group in 1994 and undertook post graduate research in the area of sustainable design. Vivienne is a Lecturer in Architectural Design and Technology and a Director of the UCD Energy Research Group. Her most recent publication is the second edition of ‘A Green Vitruvius – Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design’ with J Owen Lewis.
John Carney
John Carney works as a Quantity Surveyor in the contracting sector and Lecturer in Construction Management at Waterford Institute of Technology. He has been involved in a number of low energy construction projects and has just completed his own family Passive House. His talk will be illustrated with photographs and charts and will concentrate on lessons learned in building and living in a passive house. He will also draw on his experience of renovation of a 250 year old thatched farmhouse as well as the construction of a “passive Solar house” from 1990.J
Joan Carreras – Universitat Rovira i Virgili
Joan Carreras is an environmental engineer and completed the Msc in Energy Efficiency Management at Universitat de Barcelona in 2012 and the Msc in Air Conditioning Technologies and Energy Efficiency in Buildings at Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona in 2013 and received the Top Graduate Student Award, best in Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
In 2012 he obtained the first place in “Primer Concurso de Arquitectura Social, una nueva mirada a la vivienda pública” competition organized by Enmateria Company and supported by “Un Techo para Chile” Association. The competition consists of developing a social building model with limited construction materials and with the aim of achieving an energy-efficient dwelling.
In 2013 he obtained the fourth place in the “Design Optimization Competition” a global competition open to all professionals and students organized by Design Builder, ZeroEnergyDesign and the Montfort University (Leicester). The project consists of creating an office building with the lowest construction cost and with the lowest level of operational CO2 emissions.
He is now enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona. He is working in the fields of Optimization, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Life Cycle Assessment.
Dr Shane Colclough – University of Ulster and Energy Expertise, PHAI Chairman
Shane Colclough has been a chartered engineer since 1994 and received an MBA from the Smurfit Business School in 1998. He works in the Centre for Sustainable Technologies in the University of Ulster in addition to managing his consultancy firm, Energy Expertise Limited.
He holds a Ph.D. for his work on the application of the Passivhaus standard to Ireland and has been working for the past five years in the area of Thermal Energy Storage Applied to the Passivhaus Standard in the Irish Climate.
He has authored a number of papers on the topic of passive houses, solar assisted space heating and inter- seasonal energy storage and has presented at a number of international conferences. He presented a paper at the International Passive House Institute Conference in Hannover last year where he also participated as part of the expert panel.
Dr Colclough is currently working on the €9m pan European project EINSTEIN which focuses on the application of seasonal thermal energy storage in conjunction with heat pumps along with a number of European partners.
Dr. Guillaume Coste, Coillte Panel Products
Dr. Guillaume Coste is Structural Engineer R&D for Coillte Panel Products (CPP). He holds an MSc in Structural Engineering from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh and a PhD in Structural Timber Engineering from Edinburgh Napier University obtained in 2010. He also has developed his knowledge of the requirements of building physics for the timber frame industry through his experience in France, the UK and Ireland. Currently part of the R&D and Innovation team at CPP he is involved in the development of new products aimed at the Passivhaus and Low Energy sectors of the Off Site Construction and Timber Frame industry.
Guillaume’s paper will focus on the development of a new innovative OSB panel for the timber frame construction industry that satisfies the demands of the low energy and Passive construction standards.
Pat Cox – Former President of the European Parliament and Finance speaker
Pat Cox was President of the European Parliament until Mid 2004. He has been an MEP since 1989, representing the constituency of Munster in the Republic of Ireland. Before entering politics he worked both as an economics lecturer and as a journalist and TV presenter. In 1998 he was first elected President of the European Liberal Democrat Group. He was unanimously re-elected in June 1999. In 2005 Pat Cox was elected as the new president of the European Movement International. He is the winner of the 2004 Charlemagne Prize for Great European Achievement.
Niall Crosson, Ecological Building Systems
Niall Crosson is Senior Technical Engineer with Ecological Building Systems. He holds a degree as a Bachelor of Technology (1st class Hons.) and a Masters Eng. Sc. He is also a Certified Passivhaus Consultant. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Irish Green Building Council.
Ecological Building Systems have pioneered the introduction of natural insulation materials and airtightness to the construction industry in Ireland and the UK for over a decade. His expertise is in the area of building physics, energy conservation, hygrothermal analysis, airtightness, natural insulation, and vapour diffusion open constructions.
Over the last decade Niall has received advanced training from GUTEX woodfibre insulation manufacturers (www.GUTEX.de) and pro clima (www.proclima.com) based in Germany as well as a number of other companies. He has provided guidance to many award winning low energy projects in Ireland and the UK. He has also co-authored and authored chapters for a number of low energy building publications including The Passivhaus Handbook and The Passivhaus Designers Manual. Niall also provides regular technical contributions to a number of construction publications including The Journal of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.
Prof Michel De Paepe, Ghent University
Michel De Paepe is professor of Thermodynamics at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the Ghent University in Belgium. He is also the president of the Flemish Passive House Platform and is the happy owner of a passive house. His research focuses on energy performance of thermal systems, such as heat exchangers and the integration of HVAC systems in the build environment. He has since long been involved in the development of the Belgian EPBD calculation methods.
Ann-Marie Fallon – Director, Regeneration Partnership Ltd
Dip Arch MSc. Arch B. Arch RIBA ARB CEPH
Ann-Marie Fallon is an ARB registered architect and a member of RIBA. Upon graduating from DIT in 2008 she returned in 2013 to complete her professional practice studies, achieving the Jack O Keefe award for academic excellence. She was one of the first seven Certified Passivhaus Designers in Ireland from Strathclyde University in 2009. After some time practicing as Ceartgoleor Design in Ireland, she worked on one of the first American passivhaus projects in Maine USA before returning to work with Joseph Little Architects.
She is now a director in Regeneration Partnership Ltd, an embryonic practice of architects based in Devon focusing solely on low energy and Passivhaus architecture and consultancy, including deep historical refurbishment. In 2012 Regeneration Partnership were appointed as Passivhaus consultants for the first multi-unit development of affordable housing in a National Park in the UK, currently on site. She guest tutors in low energy architecture at Nottingham & Bath Universities, and at occasionally at DIT in Dublin.
She has developed an interest and carried out research in the area of 3D hygrothermal heat and moisture phenomena in buildings, triggered by being the Passivhaus Designer for Irelands first certified EnerPHit building. This led to presenting a paper at the Passivhaus Conference in Frankfurt in 2013, and is publishing some of her Masters research in Environmental Building Design from Cardiff University. She is an advocate of research-led practice that is lead by good space and place making, and believes exemplar design can go hand in hand with physics-led building standards such as Passivhaus.
Maurice Falvey – www.nilanireland.ie
Maurice Falvey, mechanical engineer with over 25 years experience in technical challenging industries and management of high value engineering projects worldwide. Experience ranges from mechanical design, electrical, hydraulic, ventilation and building services control systems; with a unique skill set and a fresh approach to Building Services design coupled with completed Passive House projects utilising latest low energy renewable technologies; with a focus on emerging renewable energy technologies and integration into low energy and passive house designed buildings; with proven, measured and deliverable results on mechanical installations, design and comfort living with low operating costs.
Ciarán Ferrie – Architect, Ciarán Ferrie Architects
BSc(Arch) BArch MRIAI
Ciarán has over 20 years’ experience as a practising architect and has designed projects across the world from New York to Tbilisi and from Moscow to Sydney. He formed Ciarán Ferrie Architects in 2010 as an independent architectural consultancy and has a portfolio of work ranging from small scale domestic extensions to large commercial and educational projects both in Ireland and abroad. Ciarán is also a director of Fumbally Exchange, a community of design-focussed small businesses headquartered in Dublin and coordinates the Fumbally Exchange CPD Network, a learning resource for architects, technologists and other design professionals.
Conall Finn, i3PT
Chief Operations Officer/ Assigned Certifier
With over 12 years’ experience in the Construction Industry, Conall has held the role of Project Manager, Senior Engineer and Certifier for a wide variety of large-scale multi-disciplinary projects. These projects include Dublin Airport T2 Retail Units, Dublin Port Tunnel and the Aviva Stadium. Conall is a Chartered Engineer with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Engineering. He holds the Membership grade in the Institute of Fire Engineers, as well as LPS1048 Sprinkler Inspector, Supervisor and Design Qualifications. Conall is acting as the Assigned/ Designer Certifier on a number of large scale commercial and larger residential development projects at present.
Robert Hastings
After a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Science in computer modeling (1968 and 72) at Cornell University in New York, Robert began his career in Boston working for the renowned inventor, Buckminster Fuller and Japanese sculptor, Shoji Sadao. During this time he became a Licensed Architect in Massachusetts.
To pursue his growing interest in solar energy in 1975 he accepted a research position at the U.S. Center for Building Technology, near Washington DC. His first publication, “Window Design Strategies to Conserve Energy” received the Publication of the Year Award. In another project, SUNCAT, he led an interdisciplinary team examining opportunities for solar use in cities and towns.
In 1980 he moved to Switzerland to work in the Building Physics Dept. of the EMPA where he led international teams for the Solar Heating & Cooling Program of the International Energy Agency. With research colleagues he co-authored five books.
Ten years later he became the leader of a research group: “Solar Architecture” at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), as well as the national program manager for Solar Buildings. He taught a popular 2-semester diploma elective course on building and solar energy. With his assistants he organized one week solar architecture excursions throughout Europe. Together with international partners, three 10-day solar summer schools were also offered.
In 2000 he founded the AEU Architecture, Energy & Environment Ltd., which in 2002 together with a partner firm won 1rst prize in the “European Solar Design Competition” for a housing project in Herten, DE and in 2007 received the UK Energy Institute “Environment Award”.
During this period, Mr. Hastings also taught at the Donau University in Krems, AT, where he received the “Teacher of the Year Award” and subsequently was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Buildings and Environment, from which he is now retired.
His activities today include consulting, serving on project juries and conference boards, and guest lecturing at universities and conferences in both English and German. His favorite topic is the evolution of solar architecture from 1900 thru to the future.
Patxi Hernández – TECNALIA
Patxi Hernández is an energy engineer who has been working in sustainable construction for over 15 years, trying to improve performance on buildings through their life cycle from materials and construction through their operation and end of life. He holds a PhD from the School of Architecture at University College Dublin, with a thesis titled “Life cycle energy performance evaluation : Towards Zero Energy Buildings”. He was involved during 2006-2007 in post-construction testing and monitoring of “Out of the blue” (Ireland´s first PassivHouse), and has since participated in many projects dealing with sustainability performance evaluation of buildings. He will talk about the monitoring over the past two years of the UCD Roebuck Residence, built to Passive House standard, and how results reinforce the importance of inhabitant behaviour in low energy buildings.
David Hughes, Iarnród Éireann
B. Arch CPMA, RIAI RIBA
David Hughes is a specialist low energy and historic conservation architect practicing with Iarnród Éireann. He has designed the first non residential ‘passivhaus’ for Iarnród Éireann or indeed for any railway company worldwide. He has won many national and international awards with two international awards for low energy and environmental design in particular. He has been a selected at the Passivhaus Institut’s own conference in Hannover in 2012 as well as the See The Light Passivhaus conferences in Ireland. Apart from an interest in energy he has a strong design background having worked for high profile practices in Paris and Dublin. Since May 2014 he has been secretary of the PHAI.
Joseph Little – Joseph Little Architects
MRIAI, BArch NUI, MSc Arch AEES
Joseph Little graduated in 1996 from UCD with a Bachelor of Architecture and in 2008 from the Graduate School of the Environment in mid-Wales with an honours degree in ‘MSc Architecture – Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies’. He is committed to raising the focus of building science in architecture, eliminating the various performance gaps in new build and retrofit, and safeguarding occupant health and historic built culture.
Joseph Little Architects won the ‘Best Residential Green Building’ awards in Ireland in 2013 and 2014: the first for Ireland’s first EnerPHit (Passivhaus Institute certified deep retrofit), the second for a deep retrofit extension of a 1929 red brick house. Building Life Consultancy (the building science consultancy wing of the practice) is the Irish co-operation partner of the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in relation to training and development of the WUFI suite of hygrothermal evaluation software. It carries out thermal bridge and hygrothermal risk evaluation consultancies for clients in several countries.
Little lectures widely and has been published in various magazines (most notably the ‘Breaking the Mould’ series in Construct Ireland magazine). He is the lead author of ‘Built to Last – energy efficiency of pre-1945 historic Dublin Dwellings’ for Dublin City Council (to be published in Spring 2015). He is also lead author in ‘Assessing insulation retrofits with hygrothermal simulations – Heat and moisture transfer in insulated solid stone walls’ for Historic Scotland (to be published in November 2014).
Paul McAlister – Paul McAlister Architects
Paul McAlister has forged a reputation at the forefront of sustainable design. Paul qualified as a Chartered Architect in 1997. He worked with Michael Aukett Architects in London, and also in offices in Dublin and Belfast before establishing his own architectural practice in 2002.
The practices’ primary focus is on high quality and sustainable design; this has promoted the development of the team’s specialist skills and knowledge. In pursuit of these specialist abilities, Paul undertook training in Passivhaus design in 2010; he is now the first Architect in Northern Ireland to become a ‘Certified European Passive House Designer’ and recently completed one of Northern Irelands’ first Certified Passive Houses.
The practice is involved in a number of sustainable and innovative projects, such as an exemplar Passivhaus Social Housing scheme and a range of ‘one-off’ bespoke Passivhaus dwellings. The sustainable credentials of Passivhaus are now being adopted in commercial buildings which traditionally were assessed with BREEAM sustainable criteria only.
In April 2013 Paul McAlister Architects won an open tender for provision of architectural services for the development of the new CREST Centre for South West College Enniskillen. This project is one of the most sustainable projects in Ireland and will be the first commercial building in Northern Ireland that will achieve the PassivHaus Certification.
The project is distinguished as it will achieve all of the following three sustainable credentials:
- PassivHaus Certified for Energy efficient envelope and ventilation system.
- BREEAM excellent in terms of the BRE sustainable benchmark for European commercials buildings.
- Net Zero Carbon energy consumption. This building utilises renewable energy to provide its own source of heat and lighting.
Whilst a combination of these sustainable criteria has been constructed in other parts of the UK, this will be the first example in Ireland and will become a benchmark building for sustainability.
Paul McAlister Architects has been in practice now for over 11 years and is at the forefront of sustainable design. The team continues to invest in training and research in order to provide high quality sustainable design solutions.
David McHugh, ProAir
David formalised his wide experience in the field of building services going back to the early eighties, with a distance education degree achieved at the turn of the millennium. With the benefit of this experience mainly in the field of HVAC, David embarked on self-employment at the end of the nineties, founding Western Ventilation Services where experience was gained both in small business and ventilation in a wide range of applications including the installation of the then new concept of HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation).
In 2002, he decided to explore the avenue of developing his own version of a HRV unit for the emerging low energy residential market. This became a reality in 2004 and by 2006 a family of HRV products had been commercialised. R&D was always central to David and the activities of his company, ProAir Systems which was incorporated in 2004 for the purpose of becoming the total specialist in this niche area. In 2008 a Netherlands based inventor approached David with a patented concept for the next generation of HRV systems. Eventually, after much consideration, David and a group of colleagues applied for a grant from the department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to try to bring this concept to reality. David currently leads this collaborative research and development group which includes a British based contract manufacturer, Cardiff University and BRE Scotland. The group also has connections with NUIG Galway and a consultancy group based in Italy. The group plan to introduce the PAICCS (ProAir Indoor Climate Control Systems) into the market in early 2016 and expect it to be disruptive in its impact.
Paul McNally – Ecological Architecture
PassivHaus Architecture Company is lead by architect Paul McNally, founded to provide specialist architectural services to the commercial sector. The practice has designed and completed both residential and commercial PassivHaus buildings. Paul graduated with honours in architecture from Bolton Street D.I.T. in 1998, practiced in Ireland and Australia and became a member of the RIAI in 2002. Paul worked with Murray O’Laoire, McCullough Mulvin, Kelly Barry O’Brien Whelan and Cox Richardson before going into private practice in 2004, with a view to specialising in PassivHaus architecture. In 2009 Paul earned a Masters degree in architecture with Merit in Advanced Environment and Energy studies with a thesis looking at efficiency aspects of PassivHaus design. Paul is a member of and has presented at the Passive House Association of Ireland’s annual conference, attended the International PH conferences in Germany and Austria and is a Certified PassivHaus Designer.
John Morehead – Wain Morehead Architects
An Architect with passive solar principles infused in all his work over 28 years. Qualifying from DIT Bolton street in 1986, he is also a RIAI Conservation Grade III Architect, holds a diploma in Project Management from UCC and is an ITC Level 1 Thermographer. John became a Certified Passive House Designer in 2009 completing the Carrigaline Certified Passive House project in 2010.
John’s practice has been synonymous with low energy, sustainable, performance driven architecture since its formation in 1995. The ability to deliver not only energy efficient design but also comfort, quality and certainty in performance, convinced WMA that the adoption of Passive House tools and techniques could support the honing and improvement of the practice’s skills in this area.
Acknowledged experts on the impact of climate on building performance, WMA generate project specific climate data for PHPP and Wufi and other energy simulation programs, also offering independent passive house design consultancy, thermal bridge analysis and post occupancy analysis to fellow professionals as required. Continually exploring how the application and opportunities building physics and Passive House tools in general can benefit all project types at individual and macro level, their recent focus on the retail and industrial sector, has achieved significant and recognised efficiencies. The energy reductions attained in a Butcher’s retail outlet in 2012 highlighted how significant improvements in energy use in these sectors can be achieved through careful analysis.
In August 2013, the new ‘Garden Still House’ at Midleton Distillery was unveiled, a process building again designed and implemented with energy efficiency and quality in mind, making use of many of WMA’s tools and ideas in a very active yet integrated way. John has instigated essential research for the future use of Infra-red energy sources as heating forms in low energy buildings and holds patents in this area.
Noel Morrin – Skanska
Noel is a scientist by training. He worked internationally in a variety of commercial and technical roles the global chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries plc during the 1980s. The 1990s saw him direct NGO Business in the Environment and the UK National Environmental Technology Centre. From 1999 to 2005 he led environmental strategy and policy in RMC Group plc, the largest concrete company in the world, including significant roles in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s “Cement Sustainability Initiative”. Skanska AB appointed him SVP Sustainability in 2005 and expanded his role to include Green Support in 2009.
Noel recently chaired a taskforce for the Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative of UNEP to investigate barriers to faster greening of the construction sector supply chain. The report was published in May of this year. He has also been an adviser on business-related environmental matters to HRH The Prince of Wales and sat on the Corporate Social Responsible Committee of Thames Water plc for several years. He is an honourary member of the New York Academy of Science and a Fellow of the British RSA (Royal Society for the promotion of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce).
Dr Brian Motherway, SEAI
Dr Brian Motherway was appointed Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in May 2012. SEAI is Ireland’s national energy authority with a mission to play a leading role in transforming Ireland into a society based on sustainable energy structures, technologies and practices. To fulfil this mission SEAI aims to provide well-timed and informed advice to Government, and deliver a range of programmes efficiently and effectively, while engaging and motivating a wide range of stakeholders and showing continuing flexibility and innovation in all activities. SEAI’s actions will help advance Ireland to the vanguard of the global green technology movement, so that Ireland is recognised as a pioneer in the move to decarbonised energy systems. Brian was previously Chief Operations Officer and Head of Strategy at SEAI. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering and a PhD in Sociology. Prior to joining SEAI he was a consultant on energy and environmental policy.
Séamus Mullins, Michael Bennett & Sons
Séamus Mullins works as an estimator and surveyor with building contractors Michael Bennett & Sons, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. He has been involved in passive house construction since 2008, and passed the Certified Passive House Consultant exams in 2010. The company won the prestigious Isover Energy Award for their certified passive housing scheme in Rosslare, Co. Wexford in 2011, when it was deemed the most outstanding energy efficient Irish construction project in that year.
In his talk, he will be identifying areas of cost difference between a constructed A3 rated semi-detached house, and building the same house to a Certified Passive House Specification at Maderia Oaks Residential Housing Scheme in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford.
Martin Murray – Architect / Previous PHAI Chairman
Dipl Arch (Distn), B Arch Sc (Hons), Dipl Proj Mang, M Arch UD. MRIAI
Martin has over 30 years experience as a Practicing Architect, Lecturer and Passive House Designer. Prior to setting up in independent practice in 1996 he worked within practices in Ireland, the UK and the USA; where as a Fulbright scholar he completed studies in Urban Design, winning the William Dunlop Darden Medal, at Rice University, Houston, Texas.
His work has been exhibited at the Royal Academy London, and his practice is involved in a wide variety of projects from Commercial to Residential; Conservation through to Exhibition Design, Urban Design and Low Energy Strategies.
Archie O’Donnell – Architectural Technologist, Integrated Energy
BSc (Hons) Spatial Planning, Dip Arch Tech, RIAI (Tech) BREEAM-AP
Archie has been an Architectural Technologist for 12 years with experience in commercial architecture and is a qualified planner. Archie has worked as a sustainability consultant with accreditations in BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes and was a trainer for the Greenworks courses in thermal bridging. He has specialised in developing cost-effective building solutions, adapting Irish construction techniques for passivhaus and Part L 2011 compliance.
As the owner and operator of Integrated Energy, Archie has focused the consultancy to provide energy efficient building fabric with high comfort levels. These approaches include the analysis and application of appropriate renewable based heating and ventilation systems.
Archie is also training to be accredited in thermal bridging with the DIT CPD certificate in thermal bridge analysis with a view to certification by NSAI on the database of registered thermal modellers.
Darren O’Gorman, Target Zero
Darren first developed a passion for physics and comfort in buildings while studying “Sick Building Syndrome” as an undergraduate on “Building Services & Management” in the late 90s in at Carlow IT. Since then he has shrived to create better buildings, he started his own architectural & project management company in 2002 after a number of years varied experience he got while working on construction sites. Inspired by clients and strengthened by his own experience along with a self build passive house cottage retrofit in 2005, Darren founded Target-Zero in 2010. He has since delivered training courses to built environment professionals and trades both in-house and at colleges and universities both in the UK & Ireland, including the first tradespersons in the UK to receive passivhaus tradesperson accreditation. Along with running private courses Darren lectures at IT Carlow and Greenwich University, He is also providing consultancy services on number projects both in the UK & Ireland, both new build and retrofit. Darren holds a Masters in Construction Project Management and is also currently studying part time for an MA in Further Education.
Tomás O’Leary – Passive House Academy
Tomás O’Leary has been working in the field on sustainability for over two decades. He is a Co-Founder of a number of firms focused on delivering innovative design, consulting and training services including MosArt Architects and the Passive House Academy. Tomás was inspired in 2002 to embark on building the first Certified Passive House in the English speaking world, his family home for the past 10 years. This hands-on experience with what continues to be cutting edge energy efficiency has driven much of his effort in the past decade. The Passive House Academy (PHA) is recognised internationally as a leader in providing training for both designers and contractors and has developed dedicated training labs in Dublin, London and New York. Tomás is highly focused on trying to make a difference to the survivability of our planet, and he believes working in this field offers many business opportunities. He lives in Wicklow and enjoys nothing more than the company of his wife Mairéad and their three girls.
Julien Rivat – DPLG
Julien Rivat is an enthusiastic advocate of high performance low energy building. Awards to date include ‘Prebat ADEME’ in 2009, 2010 and 2012. He was also the winner of the ‘energy performance trophy’ in 2012. He has worked on three passivhaus projects to date of which one is certified and all have data collected for post occupancy evaluation. A graduate of the School of Architecture, La Villette, Paris in 2000, he established ‘Atelier RIVAT’ in 2003. Alongside his architectural training he qualified as an environmental engineer at the School of Architecture in Lyon in 2007 and then went on to train in the Passivhaus PHPP software in 2010.
Fintan Smyth – Saint-Gobain
Dip Arch Tech, Dip AEES, CATPH
Since graduating in Architectural Technology in 1993, Fintan has pursued excellence in construction focussed largely on Conservation leading to Sustainability in the built environment. Building Physics Manager for Gyproc and Isover in Saint-Gobain Ireland since 2011 and actively engaged in the sustainability agenda particularly energy efficiency, he qualified as a BER assessor in 2007, 2008 for non-domestic buildings and as a Passive House Designer in 2010 in addition to a Permaculture certificate and pursuing an MSc in Architecture Environment and Energy Studies.
Fintan was seconded in 2013 to the Department of Energy as technical designer for the Better Energy Financing project to develop viable industry led proposals for the national residential retrofit strategy.
A BER trainer, he has also worked in course development and delivery with GreenWorks for PHPP, Fetac – Environmental Design of Buildings and Green Building and continues to develop further industry training in quality building and regulations with the Saint-Gobain Technical Academy.
Zeno Winkens MRIAI – Winkens Architecture
Zeno has worked as an architect in Wexford for over 30 years. He continues the architectural practice originally founded by his father in Germany in 1954. Throughout his career Zeno has championed the use of green building technologies and sustainable materials. As early as 1991 he designed a passive solar bungalow installed with a solar warm air heating system which still runs today. In 2008 he designed a low energy, two-storey, straw bale house. In 2012 he won a Green Award for his design work on a passive house constructed in hemp.
More recently, he designed Ireland’s first A1 BER- rated house that also has Passive House certification. This design was Isover Energy Efficiency Award Winner 2013 and represented Ireland at European level. In the interest of clarifying the radical new building regulations BC(A)R S.I.9 Zeno authored ‘Overview Building Regulations for an Average Dwelling’. To date this free fact sheet has had over 3,000 downloads from his web site.
