George's Place

A neat row of houses, tucked into a dense urban area in the centre of Dún Laoghaire, designed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in collaboration with A2 Architects. Built as part of a rapid delivery programme contractor Sisk Living also had its own consultant architects, O’Mahony Pike.

The layout consists of a terrace of four gable-fronted houses and the pair of longer thin houses, just one room deep, on Kelly’s Avenue with a further six houses to the rear, on Stable Lane. The pair closest to the harbour are rendered and painted white, in line with the traditional treatment of Victorian seafront houses in the area, with the remaining 10 gable-fronted houses clad in warm-coloured brick with zinc roofs. A classic “brownfield site”, its redevelopment contributes to Dún Laoghaire’s urban framework plan, to reconnect the town centre with the waterfront.

Location:: Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dubilin
Architect:: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council & A2 Architects

Given the current housing crisis in Dublin, with so many people living on the edge, few could be happier than the social housing tenants who recently moved into 12 new “rapid-build” homes sandwiched between Kelly’s Avenue and Stable Lane, just yards from Dún Laoghaire’s majestic harbour.

The scheme, designed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s architects, is not only a fine addition to the eclectic mix of housing in this sought-after area, but every one of the new houses has a BER (building energy rating) of A1, which means that utility bills should cost little more than €200 per year.

Contrary to popular mythology that there’s something substandard about the rapid-build housing, all of the houses have triple-glazed windows and are mechanically ventilated to provide a high degree of comfort all year round. With crisp architectural detailing, they have not been “lashed up” in any way - Frank McDonald, Irish Times

Irish Green Building Council award

The Irish Green Building Council awarded the exacting Home Performance Index silver certification to this multi-unit social housing development, with the rapid delivery contract achieving the highest score so far for a multi-unit development. Speaking about this achievement, Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) CEO Pat Barry said: “This rating highlights that quality and sustainability are about choices, design and skills, and do not involve extra costs or time.”

Achieving nZEB standard - nearly Zero Energy Buildings

Contractor Sisk Living applied for the third-party verified Home Performance Index (HPI) to demonstrate they could exceed the exemplary standard set down by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Couty Council for nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB), a specification that will become mandatory for all housing stock in the near future. Offering a great example of the quality that can be achieved despite a rapid-build mandate, the dwellings are extremely energy efficient and achieved the highest Building Energy Rating (BER), A1. The Home Performance Index label was developed by the Irish Green Building Council after extensive research and consultation with the industry to encourage quality and excellence in the development of new homes. In addition to the sustainability of a dwelling, HPI assesses its impacts on owners and tenants’ wellbeing and the costs associated with living in these homes.

Experience of Contractors

The experience and qualifications of the design and contracting team were assessed to ensure that a high-quality design and attention to detail were applied from concept to completion. High levels of airtightness were achieved and the potential for mould growth was minimised through thorough assessment and minimisation of thermal bridging at all junctions and 95% of the waste generated onsite were diverted from landfill.

Our ULTIMA Systems are already at the nZEB standard, which will soon become mandatory for all housing stock, and their utilisation on the George's Place project demonstrates this can be achieved cost effectively, to a rapid build programme on a difficult urban site. Timber frame remains the most cost-effective off-site solution for housing and with Kingspan Century contractors can be assured of performance and regulatory compliance with reliable on-site construction scheduling enabling ‘on time’ completion and project handover - Gary Treanor, Business Unit Director, Kingspan Century

Kingspan Century

Kingspan Century Limited

Clones Road

Monaghan

H18 TX09

+353 (0)47 38400

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