Some safety experts want California to stop the cutting of quartz countertops saying it can't be done safely. Lawmakers, meanwhile, contemplate a ban on workers' lawsuits against quartz manufacturers.

Loved this

New issue out now! - Always worth waiting for, issue 51 of Passive House Plus is at the printers, but subscribers can read the digital version online now! mailchi.mp/passivehouse...

From LinkedIn. Nice reminder from a founder at the end the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025 brilliantly hosted by @passivhaustrust.bsky.social and @passivehouseie.bsky.social . For new build PassivHaus is a no brainer but how do we apply PassivHaus EnerPHit to renovations ?

RTÉ Nationwide on Monday Oct 6th focused on the upcoming Irish www.architecturefoundation.ie #OpenHouseDublin . The first 10 minutes are about CLT Mass Timber and feature an in-depth look at Teach Sprúis tinyurl.com/4vthcajp For Open House Oct 11th -19th events see openhousedublin.com/whats-on/

It's amazing how many vistas in Dublin have been altered by the construction of this one single grim tower on Tara St D2. This photo is from Parnell Square in D1. How did it get planning ? If a 3D model was submitted to planners could it not be used in a city model to check these impacts ?

I joined the campaign group I BIKE Dublin for their monthly Bike Bop last Friday. Met at Parnell Square - opposite Hugh Lane gallery at 6pm and bopped around the city on our bikes for an hour. Punters loved it as did we bsky.app/profile/ibik... Last Friday of every month. See you Aug 29th

Honoured to have our work on sustainability acknowledged at the RIAI Architecture Awards 2025 where Teach Sprúis was highly commended in the SUSTAINABILITY category

Timber Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park [2013]. I'll soon figure out threaded posts

CLT has to be seen to be appreciated. On a recent trip to London I visited 2 beautiful community buildings : the Timber Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Park [2013] and the Frampton Park Baptist Church [2013] Sourced with the help of the 2018 publication waughthistleton.com/100-projects...

My letter to the editor in the Irish Times today on why we ought to target one million people cycling every day instead of one million EVs on Irish roads by 2030. #ActiveTransport

Architects are being urged to decarbonise buildings. If timber is part of the solution, how much biodiversity does forestry support? Nordic spruce used to make CLT is native to central Europe. Sitka spruce grown in Ireland is not. Why don't we grow more native Scots pine ? ecoplan.ie/can-scots-pi...

For water biodiversity the Citizens Science program can help communities assess wildlife quality in water samples using the great recording form. More info lawaters.ie/citizen-scie... Thanks to Prof Mary Kelly-Quinn freshwater ecologist at UCD for showing it at Rewild Dublin ? 25 Conference.

Teach Sprúis has been selected for the RIAI Architectural Awards 2025 shortlist. All 48 projects on the shortlist are part of the Public Choice Award. Votes can be cast until June 16th at www.riai.ie/public-choic...  The Public Choice Award and category awards will be announced on June 19th.

Whether through outright lies about the harmlessness of fossil fuels or the indirect lies of snake oil ‘Abundance theory’, both Right and Left politicians and commentariat have decided it’s easier to pretend global warming isn’t an extinction-level threat than it is to tackle it.

Brussels based RotorDC have built a business around desconstruction and salvage. It is also a Cooperative. The support and interest of the Brussels region government has been critical to supporting its development. rotordc.com/home. Every region in Europe can have one of these.

In Brussels I visited 2 impressive circular economy businesses. Inspired by BC Materials who make the léém brand low-carbon clay plasters, paints and earth blocks from the excavation material under Brussels. bcmaterials.org/products-leem

March 16th I went by ferry/train from Dublin to Brussels. From ferry at 7:30 am to arriving in Brussels took 14 hours. With better train times it can be 12 hours. London Euston to Pancreas is a short walk. For CO2 emmissions of trains v planes see. www.directferries.co.uk/carbon_footp... Great trip

France’s new tidal turbines aim to power thousands of homes with clean energy supplying electricity to 8 million people. www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...

Buildings don't breathe! VERY useful animation from UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings UCL. Helpful myth-busting, explaining moisture and building materials with the aid of biscuits! youtu.be/Aky2HsB03Tk...

We are delighted to announce that Teach Spúis is a Winner at the Wood Awards Ireland 2024 in the category Small-Scale Buildings. Read about the awards and see the catalogue of winning and shortlisted projects www.edenarchitects.ie/2024/12/13/w... #passivehouse #masstimber #clt

Myth busting about heat pumps www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-18...

An inspiring community jrnl.ie/6568875

Before choosing bottled water over tap water, remember it takes more than 10X the water that a bottle of water holds to make the plastic bottle and transport the water. And that’s before considering the fuel and GHGs, the 1000 year bottle life, and the RIDICULOUS amount of $ we’re paying for water.

Attention Street Design Nerds! One of the most intriguing cities in recent years at reconsidering streets for people instead of just for cars, Oslo Norway, has translated their great Street Design Manual into English and put it on-line. Worth digging into. #Oslo www.oslo.kommune.no/getfile.php/...

I haven't made one of these for a while, so here's a heatmap that shows the monthly global temperature anomaly for 1880–2024. This shows the difference between the average temperature in each month and the 20th century average for that month. Data from NOAA: www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monit...

In less than 20 years, car culture has destroyed the traditional British suburb, with enormous environmental, social, and political consequences.

Are you curious how the climate policies of political party manifestos stack up ahead of 🇮🇪 #ge24 next week? ❌ The three major parties - Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein and Fine Gael all failed our assessment ✅ the Labour Party came out on top www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/labour-...

@ivanabacik.bsky.social @hazelchu.bsky.social @mariesherlock.bsky.social @neasahourigantd.bsky.social Let's make Dublin the best city for cycling in Europe. A good start would be to make Arnott Street, Dublin 8 and streets like it two-way for cyclists.

Looking forward to 3pm Concert in the NCH on Saturday December 14th #stmarysprocathedralgirlschoir #nch

Honoured that Teach Sprúis has been shortlisted for the Wood Awards Ireland 2024 in a joint entry with G-Frame Structures Ltd. It is unique in Ireland for being both designed to Passive House Standard and using mass timber for the entire superstructure. www.edenarchitects.ie/2024/11/11/w...