New Irish Housing Typology
In the world of housing design, a quiet revolution has recently reached a significant milestone.The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage unveiled the Draft Sustainable and Compact Settlement Guidelines for Planning Authorities, marking a watershed moment for the industry. These guidelines are now open for public consultation, offering a unique opportunity to shape the future of housing in Ireland. Click here to view.
The Housing Committee of the RIAI has been engaged in research into potential reform and improvement to Irish Housing Planning Standards since 2017. Due to concern about the sustainability of current housing models and lack of adoption of more innovative models of housing due to regulatory constraints, the RIAI’s research work recommenced in 2022, to research how best to achieve sustainable affordable attractive and widely acceptable new suburban developments.
The guidelines create a new legislative environment promoting many of the Low-Rise, Medium-Density, Low-Carbon Housing Typologies that should be introduced as a priority as a distinct category as part of a new Ministerial Directive for National Housing Planning Standards.
This new housing category will enable architects, urban designers and their clients in the public and private sector to produce a new generation of high quality sustainable residential communities for the twenty-first century. It will also significantly raise standards and improve the choice of housing and quality of the public realm in residential neighborhoods.
Kathryn Meghan, CEO of the RIAI said: “The RIAI would strongly recommend that we look to the Nordic Countries and our European counterparts, which adopt a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach between all stakeholders to deliver a design-led, three-dimensional system of planning. The RIAI believes that providing design-led plans that have had the benefit of public engagement and are delivered in a format that the public can clearly understand will create greater certainty, and could significantly reduce the number of objections and legal challenges, and enhance quality outcomes.”
This form of housing provides densities comparable to apartment development, but does so through the medium of house building, with own-door homes, garden courtyards, and generous terraces, and is deliverable in a more economical, viable format, more suitable for phased delivery – a particularly important point in today’s interest rate environment. It delivers the one, two and three-bed units which as Census 2022 highlights, are so desperately required for sale and for rent, in locations which support sustainable low-carbon impact transportation.
The net affect of these new guidelines will be to unleash a new era of creativity and invention in housing design, of a more sustainable, more viable, and more affordable housing, which is both more in line with European norms, but also feels more comfortable in an Irish context.
The images which follow chronicle a number of completed and in-development Low-Rise, Medium-Density, Low-Carbon Housing Typologies by Shay Cleary Architects in Ireland, in a variety of sectors, including the prime residential sector, social and affordable sector, and in the house building sector.
Here's how these new guidelines can affect our industry:
Increased Demand for Sustainable Designs: With a legislative push towards low-carbon housing typologies, there will be a surge in demand for sustainable and energy-efficient designs.
Innovation in Housing Models: The guidelines encourage innovation in housing models, opening up a world of possibilities for architects to explore new, eco-friendly designs and construction methods.
Boom in the Sector: Clients will be seeking architects and interior designers who can deliver eco-conscious designs.
Boom in Demand for Experts: There will be a significant boom in the demand for working experts in sustainable architecture.
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