Holy Family Special School Co. Cavan
A purpose built special educational needs (SEN) school offering dedicated facilities for pupils.
Case Study4 min read
Selected as ‘Residential Project of the Year’ at the 2023 Irish Construction Excellence Awards, Griffith Wood delivers 385 residential units along with a public park and creche. Griffith Wood comprises 7 apartment blocks, with 1-3 bedroomed units, and a further 8 semi-detached homes. Situated on a 7.6 acres plot in the leafy Dublin suburb of Marino, the development includes 1.6 acres of public park land and a range of amenities. The properties have been sensitively designed to reflect the surrounding architecture whilst providing a modern aesthetic.
Updates to Part L of the Building Regulations were under consultation during the initial planning for the project. Whilst the specific requirements were still being developed, Nearly Zero Energy Building considerations were incorporated into the design from an early stage. An energy hierarchy approach was adopted looking first at limiting demand through passive measures. This included targeting U-values which improved on the initial proposal for the Part L upgrade – with an average area-weighted U-value of 0.15 W/m2K for the floors and walls, and 0.16 W/m2K for the roofs.
LOCATIONDublin, Ireland
The stunning development from Cairn Homes has been constructed to provide residences that use energy efficiently and are affordable to heat with a fabric specification featuring Kingspan floor, wall and roof insulation boards.
Kingspan GreenGuard GG300 was fitted as part of the concrete ground floor construction of the seven apartment blocks. The rigid extruded polystyrene (XPS) boards are suitable for low and medium service loads, achieving a compressive strength of 300 kPa. This made the boards more than suitable for the areas of the blocks which receive high foot traffic, such as the main foyers. The boards achieve a thermal conductivity of 0.033 W/mK and resist moisture ingress, meaning they can be fitted above or below the ground slab.
For the remaining ground floor areas, including the semi-detached homes, Thermafloor TF70 was installed. With a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/mK, the rigid insulation boards can deliver a slim solution which is suitable for suspended, beam and block and solid concrete floors. The lightweight boards allowed for easy manual handling on site and could be easily and accurately cut to size with a fine toothed saw.
As part of the sensitive design of the development, both the blocks and semi-detached homes have been constructed with facades comprising traditional red brick and render. For the cavity wall constructions of the semi-detached properties, Kooltherm K8 Cavity Board was fitted.
With a thermal conductivity as low as 0.021 W/mK, the Kooltherm range comprises the thinnest commonly used insulation products for any specific U-value. The boards were fitted flush to the inner leaf of the construction with a 50 mm clear residual cavity between the foil facing and the outer leaf. This allowed for a slim overall external wall construction depth whilst also providing effective protection against moisture ingress from wind driven rain.
The eight semi-detached units were also designed with rooms in their pitched roofs and dormer windows. To effectively insulate the construction at rafter level and around the dormers, Thermapitch TP10 was installed. The boards are suitable for installation below, between or above the roof rafters. With a thermal conductivity of 0.022 W/mK, they allowed the project U-value of 0.16 W/m2K to be met without compromising headroom under the pitched roof or around the dormer feature.
Images credit Donal Murphy Photography
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