CK05

garethace, im glad to read your comments on energy and greed, embodied in the rush for large shopping centres such as dundrum town centre. i thought for a while there that nobody in ireland was ever going to pop their heads above the parapet and make the link between broader societal and economy sustaining issues and the solutions we are building in response to meet the ever increasing demands of economic growth. i shudder to think what will happen when emerging economies start adopting the same trends and solutions…

we can only hope that ultimately market forces will, at the very least, drive building solutions towards using more energy efficient technologies to maintain the internal environments they enclose, never mind a reflective aesthetic…the upcoming energy performance in buildings directive and ever increasing understanding and concern over the implications the built environment has on larger and broader scale issues (e.g. climate change and energy security) will likely have an impact within the next 10 years – just in time for the retrofitting of many environmental conditioning systems. to note: in terms of energy security, Ireland is one of the countries in the ‘developed’ world most at risk – due to our fuel infrastructure and reliance on imported fuel.

i agree these issues, in the context of shopping centres, need some airing in the industry press – the boys at construct ireland may even have covered it already?

sustainable ( a term which may become overtaken in coming years) design solutions do not limit architectural expression but do require synthesis of a broader and deeper range of issues than current convention and design processes allow….dealing with such complexity in design development costs money – is there a way around this?

at least with the experience being gained by western architects in creating enclosed spaces that maximise exclusion of the natural environment, will help us all when we start building on mars! 🙂