PHAI Board Members

Chairperson – Caroline Ashe Brady, Director of KORE Insulation & KORE Retrofit

Picture of Caroline Ashe Brady with teal border

Caroline Ashe Brady has been a Director for the KORE Group (Insulation & Retrofit) for nearly two-decades, devoting her professional career to developing the sustainability of Ireland’s built environment in both the new build and retrofit markets.

Education and continuous learning are important to Caroline, holding a BSc in Marketing and Management from DIT, MSc in Strategic Procurement from DCU, and is a trained Passive House Consultant with the Passive House Institute. As the construction landscape evolves in Ireland, so do the opportunities for development and collaboration within the industry, which is an important goal for brand success, where Caroline mentors and sits on the boards of the Small Firms Association (SFA), the Passive House Association of Ireland, and works closely with the National Insulation Association of Ireland.

She has led the company to win numerous industry awards including the SEAI Energy Awards, KPMG Property Excellence Awards and the SFA Awards. She is a well-respected leader within the construction industry, taking part in speaking engagements for industry events such as National Women’s Enterprise Day, Cavan Business Women’s Club, SEAI and SFA industry seminars, and World Quality Day, among many others.

With Caroline at the helm, KORE was the first company in Ireland to achieve ISO 9001:2015, and more recently ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems, proving the company’s commitment to sustainability and progressing plans to net-zero by 2030. Under her leadership, KORE Retrofit became the first SEAI Registered One Stop Shop in Ireland, providing nationwide energy upgrade services to homeowners across the country.


Vice Chairperson – Barry McCarron, CREST Research and Development Coordinator

Barry Mc Carron has been the Research and Development Coordinator since 2013 for the award winning CREST (Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies) Pavilion at South West College in Northern Ireland.

Barry is an MSc graduate of the Queens University Belfast through the Gibson Scholarship. He previously graduated from the University of Ulster with an Honours Degree in Architectural Technology and Project Management. He has also completed a HND in Building Engineering and Project Management at the Belfast Institute of Higher and Further Education.

Barry has recently undertaken a PhD in Queen’s University Belfast to research the Passive House Standard performance in Ireland.  He has more than ten years’ experience with the Construction Industry and specialises in Sustainable Construction and renewables Micro Generation and is part of the team at South West College working towards developing the College into a Regional Centre of Excellence for Passive House.


 

Secretary – David Hughes, Senior Architect and Project Manager at Iarnrod Eireann

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.


OBM – Dr. Shane Colclough, Energy Expertise, Ulster University

Shane Colclough carries out research at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies in Ulster University in addition to being principle at the consultancy firm Energy Expertise Limited. His research area of interest is the application of the Passivhaus standard to the Irish Climate for which he was awarded a PhD. He is a Chartered Engineer and holds a Master degree in Engineering and an MBA.

He believes passionately in the potential afforded by the Passive House Standard in providing a better standard of housing for our citizens, simultaneously reducing Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels and eliminating fuel poverty. He has chaired the Passive House Association of Ireland for a three-year term, authored papers on the topic of passive houses & solar inter- seasonal energy storage in addition to presenting at national and international conferences. He is an experienced consultant and serves in the EU as an Expert on Energy-Efficient Buildings.


OBM – Paul McAlister, Paul McAlister Architects

Paul McAlister qualified as a chartered Architect in 1997, opened his own practice in 2002 and has established this practice as a leader in the field of sustainable and energy efficient architectural design.

The practice has won multiple awards and continues to promote best practice in sustainable and responsible architectural design and construction.
In 2010 Paul became the first person in Northern Ireland to become a Certified Passive House Designer. He is responsible for Northern Ireland’s first, Architect designed, Passive house becoming an advocate and early adopter of the standard.

To date, the practice’s most ground-breaking building is the 1.8 million CREST (Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Technologies) building in Enniskillen completed in 2016. This building currently, has won four awards for its design and exceptional sustainable credentials. These include, Sustainable Building Project of the year 2014 (Sustainable Design Ireland, Magazine), and winner Sustainability Category 2016, Royal Society of Ulster Architects Belfast.

Paul is active in promoting the Passivhaus construction standard as a requirement for all new buildings. He believes the Passive House Method of construction is the best means of creating reliable, quality sustainable architecture without the risk of performance-gap failures. He also recognises the importance of Passive House principles in achieving Near Zero Energy Buildings in the UK and Ireland and meeting the new European standards.

Paul is also an enthusiastic rugby referee and has been doing so since 2002. He is affiliated to the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees, a vocation which brings an association with the ‘Grass roots’ of Ulster rugby.


 

OBM – Jeff Colley, Passive House Plus

Jeff is the editor of the Passive House Plus Magazine. An award-winning magazine reporting on the latest trends and innovation in the world of low energy buildings, it is the main reference for passive houses followers and experts. Jeff is at the forefront of promotion of sustainable construction in Ireland, and in 2003 he founded the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association.

Jeff is a key figure in managing relationships with public authorities, as well as dealing with the industry environment. Jeff’s intervention has been indeed one of the main driving forces leading to the historical decision of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to integrate the Passive House Standards into its development plan.


OBM – Martin Murray, Martin Murray Architects

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.


OBM – John Morehead, M.R.I.A.I, Certified Passive House Designer

John has over 26 years’ experience in a wide variety of architectural and urban design projects for both the public and private sector. He is a member of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, a fully Certified Passive House Designer and board member of the PHAI, a member of the Irish Project Management Institute and a registered BER assessor in both domestic and non-domestic buildings. He also qualified to level 1 ITC thermography in 2009.

His entire professional career has been committed to sustainable, quality, performance driven architecture delivering very low energy buildings. In 2010 WMA completed their first fully Certified Passive House in Carrigaline. Other projects would include the Garden Still house, Midleton and Passive House domestic buildings in both the Cork City and West Cork. John has extensive experience in climatology and its application in low energy buildings providing support to other designers worldwide.


    

OBM – Archie O Donnell, Integrated Energy Consultants

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.


   

OBM – Mel Reynolds, Architect

Maoilíosa Reynolds is a registered architect with 30 years experience in Ireland, UK and USA in project management, conservation, urban design and developer-led housing.

In addition to setting up in practice in 2008 Mel has previously collaborated with a number of award-winning Architectural firms. Previous broad-ranging experience in Ireland, UK and USA has covered project management, conservation, and urban-planning projects. Project type/size has varied from high-quality small scale residential to commercial mixed-use schemes. Mel has worked directly with developers for over twenty-five years in the residential speculative development sector.

Mel has lectured on property development, procurement and professional practice and has presented papers on housing policy, apartment standards and Building Control costs. He has published articles and media appearances on the subject of housing policy and is a regular contributor to Passive House + Magazine.

Recent Joint Oireachtas Committee submissions include papers on the vacant site levy, building control and costs in the residential sector and the re-use of vacant buildings.

He holds a degree in architecture, a masters in urban and building conservation, a diploma in project management and is a Certified Passive House Designer.


OBM – Simon Bell, Director and Certified Passivhaus Consultant at HLM Architects

Simon Bell is a Director at HLM Architects with responsibility for strategic leadership across Ireland. He is a Chartered Landscape Architect whose keen interest in landscape, the environment and sustainable development brought him to discover the Passivhaus standard. He worked as part of the wider team on HLM’s early passivhaus projects at the first Scottish Housing Expo in 2010 and ‘Tigh na Croit’ Passivhaus in Gorstan which won the UK Passivhaus Trust Rural Category in 2016. He is currently building his own Passivhaus in County Antrim and as part of that process has qualified as a Certified Passivhaus Consultant at the Southwest College in Enniskillen. He is now working as part of a team within HLM to develop the practice’s approach to sustainably designed high performing buildings.

Simon passionately believes the passivhaus standard offers a range of benefits for users of all buildings, through improved indoor air quality, thermal comfort and of course efficient use of our resources. He sees the benefits of warm, healthy and affordable homes improving outcomes for people in terms of health, education and social mobility. He is keen to promote the wider implementation of the standard as we seek to tackle these issues as well as the wider and more pressing issue of climate change mitigation.


OBM – Helena McElmeel, Architect + Certified Passive House Designer

Helena is a Registered Architect with over 20 years’ experience and principal of Helena McElmeel Architects – an award-winning Galway based team of architects (including four Certified Passive House Designers) specialising in Certified Passive House and sustainable buildings, urban design and public realm.

She became a Registered Architect in 2007 and a Certified Passive House Designer in 2013. Helena holds a Masters of Science in Architecture: Advanced Energy and Environmental Studies in 2013 (CAT / UEL) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management in 2018 (Trinity College Dublin). She taught the Built Environment module in the School of Engineering in the University of Galway for over five years. Helena and her practice continue to contribute to various academic and research studies relating to energy and carbon impact of both new build and retrofitted buildings.

Presently, Helena is Chairperson of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland Sustainability Taskforce, advocating for design for performance – operational energy and embodied carbon, and building performance / post occupancy evaluation.


 
OBM – Chris Millar, Ventilation Project & Brand Manager, Kernohan Distribution

Chris Millar has over a decade’s experience of working with construction industry professionals across Ireland and beyond. As Ventilation Project & Brand Manager with Kernohan Distribution (specialists in the supply of sustainable and low energy solutions for the electrical, drainage, plumbing, heating and ventilation sectors).

A graduate of Ulster University, Chris is additionally an independently accredited ventilation designer, working with partners, primarily to deliver Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery projects, utilising PHI approved systems and components.

Chris is passionate about sustainability and minimising our collective impact upon the environment. Central to this approach, is client education. Chris offers free, CIBSE, RIAI and RIBA accredited CPDs to architects and consulting engineers across Ireland on a weekly basis. These free seminars, encompass best practice and promote the importance of regulatory compliant ventilation solutions, to conserve energy and reduce whole life cost.

Working for a business which active across the built environment, Chris also understands and appreciates the importance of taking a holistic approach to construction projects. Working with his colleagues at Kernohan Distribution, Chris can deliver a wide range of sustainable and low energy products and systems, across multiple product areas, tailored to client and site-specific requirements.”


OBM – Stephen O’Shea MRIAI – Head of Sustainable Construction and ESG Reporting, Cairn

Headshot of Stephen O'Shea

Stephen is an Architect by profession (20+ years) with a Postgrad in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design) from TU Dublin, and became a CPHD and HPI Assessor in 2022. Now applying his skills and knowledge at scale, seeking to bend the carbon curve by making truly low energy buildings mainstream and mitigating the impacts of the construction industry on nature.


For more information about membership, our plans and any other queries you may have about Passive House and low energy design or construction, please feel free to contact the board:

Email: yvonne@phai.ie