Navan Credit Union - Sustainability in Action

“THE future must be green or we won’t have a future,” says Paul Leech, ecotect, architect and engineer, a man passionate about promoting sustainable construction in Ireland.

Paul is principal director of architects GAIA Ecotecture and a founding member of éasca, the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association, which was set up to promote the viability of sustainable construction in Ireland. Paul believes Ireland’s commitment to reducing national emissions levels under the Kyoto Protocol is beginning to force the hand of the construction industry. So éasca was formed to respond to the growing demand for information on services, materials and technologies geared towards high levels of energy efficiency, occupant health and comfort and environmental performance.

Project: Navan Credit Union
St Mary’s Credit Union in Navan, Co. Meath (NCU) is Ireland’s most innovative sustainable building to date and Ireland’s first 5-storey timber-frame building. It was one of a handful of cutting-edge projects selected for presentation at the World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo. NCU has also been nominated for the Galvanizing Awards.

GAIA Ecotecture took a holistic approach to the building’s design, engineering and construction. They wanted the new building to act as a living structure, its natural elements interacting and adapting to the needs of the building’s users and the challenges thrown up by shifting weather conditions.

NCU had moved several times to meet the demands of an increasing membership and had reached the point where they needed a lot more space to meet their needs. They were willing to take a long-term view of the building, investing where they could in natural materials that would prolong life to first replacement while requiring the minimum amount of energy input to produce.

Strategic steel
“It’s a solar building, the apex is south facing and the steel is strategic. We used galvanized steel to set up the ‘Abraham Screen’ which supports the overhang of the topmost level of the brise soleil and provides deciduous shading, allowing Wisteria to climb along three levels. In years to come, the Wisteria will grow and it should turn into a green bower. It’s a highly engineered space, the cybernetically controlled vents at the top allow solar gain in winter and none in summer. The plant room is a solar roof with a solar chimney. At the north duct, we used pre-galvanized cold-pressed sections to keep the embodied energy down to the absolute minimum. The whole ductwork is galvanized steel and runs to the solar chimney, a lot of the solar panels are bedded in galvanized steel.”

“Galvanized steel patinates nicely, it’s low maintenance, that’s why I like it .”
Paul Leech, Architect.

Paul admits that sometimes they refuse work that doesn’t comply with their ethos and that it can be tough. But he believes that the business opportunities and technical innovation are an earner. “ "Ireland is finding it hard to see the reality of the sustainable agenda. We have a buoyant economy but we don’t yet have a fair society. But people who have the know-how to do things in an ecological way are going to get market share ultimately or we won’t have either, nor what we call ‘environment’. ”

The Environment & Hot Dip Galvanizing – the Sustainable Solution to Steel Protection
Hot Dip Galvanizing is probably the most environmentally friendly process available to prevent corrosion. It is estimated that corrosion costs around 4% of GDR. Every 90 seconds, across the world, one tonne of  steel turns to rust.
Every tonne of steel protected by galvanizing conserves enough energy to satisfy an average family’s energy needs for several weeks. Galvanizing will  protect steel structures for decades and requires no maintenance. Galco Steel is a member of the UK Galvanizers Association which promotes sustainability. Technologies of the future will be low waste, low emission and have high recyclability and re-use as key features. Galvanizing meets these requirements. The hot dip galvanizing process stands up to scrutiny and can be considered as a major contributor towards sustainable construction.