Research
We are constantly researching the architectural expression of our times, believing that this is centred in sustainable practice: designing within systems – eco systems – and as such making a positive contribution to the environment.
Low Carbon Construction
HCoA have collaborated with craftsmen and industry in researching low carbon forms of construction: notably in differing applications of timber but also in the use of lime and hemp construction as illustrated above at WWT Castle Espie.
ModPlus House
ModPlus House; starting out as an ecologically-determined demonstration house, ModPlus is a high-end passive house design available as stand alone, studio or as an urban terrace.
Sahel Eco Catalyst
Our research work includes projects such as the UIA award winning Sahel Eco Catalyst which sought to provide a replicable, self build field system to promote re-greening of this fringe environment.
RHA Exhibition
Our RHA exhibition piece entitled dissolution abstracted both the form of thermal mass and the lightweight hovering canopy providing solar power. The power provided heat to dissolve the wax solids which was both intended to show our inter-dependence and also the dissolving of our preconceptions of form.
Houtbundel Fabriek, Carnew
Our work with Jan Vreenegoor on the Rehan factory in Carnew was about the expression of round pole timber construction as part of a low embodied energy aesthetic; work we have continued with both round pole timber and with hempcrete at WWT Castle Espie. Read more ….
Slow Architecture + Place Exhibition
The Slow Architecture and Place exhibition (with SARC) looked to understand the importance of taking time in design and in the craft of construction to make both objects and places that resonate with user and inhabitant. The exhibition travelled by barge along the Grand Canal from Shannon to Liffey, mooring for talks, events and school visits in the autumn of 2010 and 2011.
Airfield Estate
Our architectural expression has been refined in work such as at the Airfield Estate in Dundrum (with Solearth) where a language of timber and glass pavilions sits within the land structures of masonry walls and enclosures. Designed with natural light and ventilation and utilising productive roofscapes. Read more . . . .
Competition Entries
A selection of some of our competition entries again illustrates some of our pre occupations with environmentally determined forms, with material expression and with ingenuity and delight: The Wild Flower Centre, Liverpool; The Great Fen Visitor Centre, Cambridge, The Pocket Park London.
Living Community
Based on the Living Community Challenge, a tool to create an ecological framework for master planning, our Living Community looks at the Broadstone area of Dublin and addresses an urban population of c 1000 people. It investigates required tree cover, green space, energy creation, water demand and supply, transport, food production and waste. Concluding with the need to create more productive surface and the necessity for local support structures. Read more ….