Too little, too late?Architects, engineers and planners will meet in Limerick on Thursday, November 18th to discuss the future of towns and villages in Ireland.
Set to examine issues relating to planning and development of small towns and villages so that their existing character and "sense of place" is maintained, it begs the question of whether such a forum is more than a little too late. When you consider the suburban sprawl that has developed on the edges of many towns and villages near Dublin, you wonder why such debate wasn't taking place 10 years ago.
The population explosion has already occurred and many young families have already invested in new homes in these "rural enclaves", with many people commuting for up to four hours a day. Engineers, architects and planners who believe there is a sustainable way forward for these little metropolises on the edge of our cities can contact the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland on Tel: 01-6761703 or email info@riai.ie for more details about the conference in the Radisson Hotel, Limerick.
Better building
Timber-frame building companies, wood-pellet stove suppliers, environmentally friendly flooring producers and log-home builders are among those exhibiting at this year's Plan Expo which continues today and tomorrow in the RDS Simmonscourt Pavillion, Ballsbridge, Dublin.
New to the fair this year is a one-stop shop for ecological building materials. According to Tom Barbour, managing director of MacCann and Byrne Ecological Building Systems, the company will supply sustainable building materials and information, know-how and technical advice on ecological building. It is widely believed the forthcoming Energy Rating Directive will place greater emphasis on energy efficiency during construction and add significantly to the resale value of homes. See www.expo-events.com/planexpo for a full list of companies exhibiting.
To not conserve is folly
"Irish Follies - Significant Developments during the Past 10 Years" is the title of architect James Howley's lecture on Wednesday at 7.30 p.m. in the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 63 Merrion Square, Dublin. Howley will speak about the positive attitude to conservation of Irish follies and will draw on Howley Harrington Architects' own experience of working on follies in Dromoland Castle, Co Clare, Larchhill Gardens, Kilcock, Co Kildare, and the Obelisk on Killiney Hill, Co Dublin.
"Our best landscapes are of European cultural significance and the State has a much more positive attitude now in terms of funding but the negative side is that too many historic demesnes have become insensitively designed golf courses," James Howley tells The Irish Times. Admission to his lecture is 10. Advanced booking through the Irish Georgian Society on Tel: 01-6767053.
The festivities end
The closing day of this year's Féile Samnha na gCrann/ Autumn Festival of Trees is on Friday from 7 p.m., with an evening of poetry, music and prizes in Belvedere House, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Friends and members of Crann, the broadleaf tree charity, are welcome. Tel: 0509-51718 for details.