This project provides an innovative energy efficient design solution that complements a modern state of the art ‘landmark’ building on an existing university campus.  

The winning project is the Student Services Building, at the University of Limerick, by designers Don O’Malley and Partners Limited. 

The project involved a 3,600m2, four storey student services building catering for a broad range of student life activities including student union offices, clubs, societies and recreation. Low carbon and renewable energy installations were designed to limit the buildings’ reliability on fossil fuel, and to deliver an A3 energy rated building. The building also includes a number of sustainable designs in the form of BMS automated natural ventilation, natural daylight optimisation and smart lighting control including daylight sensing, presence/motion detection and automatic dimming. 

RPS Group for Uisce Éireann’s National Water Laboratory

Sustainability was a core objective throughout the winning project in this category, guiding every aspect of the design and construction. Uisce Éireann’s National Water Laboratory  designed by RPS Group has received an outstanding design rating in the BREEAM sustainability assessment. This large state-of-the-art laboratory can carry out over a million tests annually and will deliver many benefits to the country including improving water quality data, regulatory compliance, increased transparency for the public and economic growth. Complexities of the project were the high heat gains and air change requirements needed in a laboratory and these were addressed by innovative solutions which included hybrid heat pumps, energy recovery systems, and intelligent air volume controls to effectively manage these demands.