Joseph Little graduated in 2008 from the Graduate School of the Environment in mid-Wales with an honours degree in ‘MSc Architecture – Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies’ and in 1996 graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Architecture. He has been a member of the Royal Institute of Architects since 2003 and was the first architect to join ÉASCA (the Environmental & Sustainable Construction Association) in 2007. He formed this practice in 2003 and has consistently worked to raise the bar in construction standards since.
As part of this focus his practice has focused on low energy, environmental and acoustic forms of construction. He also lectures widely and has written repeatedly for ‘Construct Ireland’ magazine on appropriate materials, detailing and health in buildings. In Spring-Summer 2009 he is writing a series of article focusing on the complex issues associated with thermal upgrades to single leaf walls.
He has just launched ‘Building Life Consultancy’ as a service to the Construction Industry and other architects to facilitate a step-change in knowledge of building physics, thermal bridging and health in buildings.
Brendan O’Connor is a senior Project Architect and Certified European Passive House Designer with a broad range of expertise from master planning, feasibility studies, concept design through to full architectural construction design and construction contract management. He is experienced as design team leader coordinating and project managing large and small schemes delivering high quality projects on time and within budget.
Beñat Arregi is a Basque architect, graduated from the Higher Technical School of San Sebastian with a strong engineering and technical component. He is passionate about using computer technology as a creative tool for designing and evaluating energy and hygrothermal performance in buildings.
As a core member of the Building Life Consultancy his focus has increasingly moved into energy efficiency. Inside the practice he has carried out several studies focused on thermal bridging and its impact on energy and hygrothermal performance.
Together with Joseph Little, he has created and lectured more than 15 courses of the highly successful full-day CPD ‘Designing Low Energy Domestic Refurbs’ for the RIAI. In the context of this course, he worked on the development of the Refurbishment Payback Calculator, a software that makes use of outputs from DEAP for an exhaustive financial assessment of retrofit projects.
Calina Ferraro graduated from McGill University in 2006 with Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Honours) and a Minor in Environmental Engineering, focusing on energy use. From Canada originally, she has a background in services engineering and energy modelling of buildings. She is also a LEED A.P. with experience in energy efficient design.
She is a core member of the practice’s Building Life Consultancy service, specialising in simulation and analysis of building components to assess the health and energy efficiency of building fabric.
Ann-Marie Fallon is a graduate architect from DIT Bolton Street. She is a Certified European Passive House Designer, qualifying from very first English language course in Scotland in 2009. Alongside this, she is currently undertaking a Masters in Environmental Building Design in Cardiff University, Wales, and her part III examinations in Ireland. Other skills include teaching, the use of hygrothermal simulation, thermal bridging software, and Ecotect.
Ann-Marie has extensive links within the passive house and low energy community both within the UK, America and Europe. Previous to joining the practice in 2010, she spent time in America working on one of the first passive houses in Maine, and spent time with Parsons School of Design, New York within their Sustainability department. She is a passionate advocate of low energy design and the future of building standards in Ireland.
