Academic Showcase
The School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy
Architecture / Landscape Architecture | Empowering People to Address the Problems of Climate Change
(opens in a new window)Dr. Karen Foley and (opens in a new window)Dr. Philip Crowe
With climate change causing radical changes to coastlines through erosion and flooding and leading to major disruption to the coastal communities living near them, concern about the impact of climate change is no longer confined to the world of environmental scientists and “eco warriors”.
But how do communities that will be affected develop a comprehensive understanding of the many, often complex, problems this is causing? How can they make sense of the competing agendas of the various affected stakeholders? And, perhaps most crucially of all in the face of such immense challenges, how can they be helped to overcome their fears and feelings of powerlessness when it comes to addressing them? A collaborative team including researchers and local authorities in Ireland and Wales set out to find the answers to these questions.
You can read the full case study here:
Empowering People to Address the Problems of Climate Change.
Environmental Policy | Assessing Flood Risk Awareness Contributes to Environmental Policy Formation
(opens in a new window)Dr Eoin O'Neill
Due to climate change, there has been an increase in the frequency of exceptional heavy rainfall leading to flooding. This poses problems for people living or working near water courses and it can also increase the risk of poorly performing Domestic Waste Water Treatment Systems (DWWTS) and the risk of contamination of well water for people living in rural areas. But how well do such people really understand these risks and to what extent has their understanding prompted them to take appropriate steps to protect themselves.? Dr Eoin O’Neill has sought to identify the answers to these questions through a series of research studies. The information gleaned has contributed to the development of environmental policies by government and agencies at both national and European levels.
You can read the full case study here:
Assessing Flood Risk Awareness Contributes to Environmental Policy Formation
Environmental Policy | Improving adaptation to climate change in sub-Saharan cities
(opens in a new window)Dr. Liana Ricci
Cities and towns in sub-Saharan Africa are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This is due to a combination of rapid urbanisation, socio-economic inequality, and the extent that people’s livelihoods depend on natural resources.
In light of this, Dr Ricci launched a research collaboration between African and European Universities, as well as local authorities and communities, to look at urban development, resilient infrastructure, and adaptation to climate change in the region. The collaboration improved the ability of local authorities to integrate climate change into urban development and environmental plans and programmes.
As a result, many policies in the region have been amended to include measures designed collectively by researchers, public officials, and the local community. Many residents stand to benefit from these measures, which will reduce the impact of climate change on their lives.
You can read the full case study here:
Improving adaptation to climate change in sub-Saharan cities
Architecture | Concrete Solutions for Sustainability in Buildings
(opens in a new window)Dr. Oliver Kinanne
The built environment accounts for over one-third of the world’s final energy. Traditional building skins, including those of concrete, are often a barrier to energy efficiency. In addition, making concrete, traditionally in high quantities with high levels of cement, results in high carbon emissions.
Dr. Oliver Kinanne and research colleagues Dr. Richard O’Hegarty and Dr. Aidan Reilly at UCD College of Engineering & Architecture are researching and developing new forms of high-performance concretes to create novel, thin, ultra high-strength, thermally superior pre-fabricated skins for buildings, for new and retrofit applications.
Through collaborations with industry and as a principal investigator on the major European project IMPRESS, Dr. Kinnane’s work will make buildings more energy-efficient, more environmentally sustainable and more comfortable for the people within.
You can read the full case study here:
Concrete Solutions for Sustainability in Buildings
Architecture | Davis Now Lecture Series
(opens in a new window)Dr Ellen Rowley
Ellen Rowley is an architectural and cultural historian based in the School of Architecture, APEP, UCD. She is a writer and teacher, currently curating Belfield 50, a celebration of UCD’s 1960s and 1970s campus. Ellen mostly writes about twentieth-century Irish architecture, as a type of social history. Her books include 'Housing, Architecture + the Edge Condition' (2019) and 'More Than Concrete Blocks' (edited, 2016 + 2019), as well as (as co-editor) 'Architecture 1600–2000, Art + Architecture of Ireland, Volume IV' (2014). This history is pioneering and so, she admits, there are mistakes. In 2017, Ellen was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, for services to Irish architecture.
You can find the Davis Now lecture series here:
UCD Davis Now Lectures
Architecture | Timber and Harbours: Insights into Sustainability in Design and Construction
(opens in a new window)Dr. Elizabeth Shotton
The built environment stretches across time. In that time, its materials store ‘embodied’ energy and carbon, some of which help to reduce emissions of carbon to the environment, such as the use of timber. In that time too, materials get broken down by the environment, and in the face of that damage our approaches to remodeling and rebuilding change. Dr Elizabeth Shotton at UCD School of Architecture is looking forward in time at how we can make more environmentally sustainable use of timber in the built environment, and she is looking back at the construction of small harbours in Ireland to both preserve and learn from their history.
Read the full case study here:
Timber and Harbours: Insights into Sustainability in Design & Construction
Architecture | The Inchicore Model School: a 21st-century design on education
(opens in a new window)Will Dimond and Marcus Donaghy
When architects Will Dimond and Marcus Donaghy set out to design an extension to The Inchicore Model School in Dublin 8, they faced a series of interesting challenges. How could they take a 19th century building and bring it into the realm of 21st-century education? How could they protect the spirit of the history while ensuring that students would have the space to learn, play and grow? By working with light, space and nature and by considering the needs of students, teachers and the local community the architects refurbished and extended the school with an award-winning design that has enriched the locality.
Read the full case study here:
The Inchicore Model School: a 21st-century design on education
Planning | A Living Lab Approach for more Sustainable Cities
(opens in a new window)Dr Francesco Pilla
Dr Francesco Pilla is working on several projects to tackle environmental issues in Dublin and in other European cities, with the aim of scaling up the technologies and approaches his group develops. The research is currently co-designing and testing interventions with citizens to mitigate against poor air quality and its related health effects, to predict localised flooding and plan for future protection against such events, and to assess the value of green spaces to human health and wellbeing. The research is already increasing awareness among citizens of the need for greater sustainability, and the interventions are designed for larger-scale impact in Europe.
Read the full case study here:
A Living Lab Approach for more Sustainable Cities
Planning | Eco-Plan: Upping the game for green spaces in urban planning
(opens in a new window)Professor Mark Scott & (opens in a new window)Dr Michael Lennon
Green spaces are not just easy on the eye, they also help to keep urban spaces safe and biodiverse, and they can even safeguard our health. To increase the awareness of green infrastructure among planners, a team from UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy developed work-shops and games to encourage experts to put their heads together and prioritise nature-based infrastructure in plans. Their workshops with local authorities have encouraged new collaboration and fresh thinking about how to support nature in urban environments and tackle natural and societal challenges.
Read the full case study here:
Eco-Plan: Upping the game for green spaces in urban planning