Facilitating one of Ireland’s largest social and affordable housing developments

About the project

Shanganagh Castle Estate is one of Ireland’s largest social and affordable housing developments, and one of Europe’s largest Passivhaus certified housing developments. The development consists of 200 social and 306 affordable purchase, cost-rental apartments across 8no. blocks, and 91 affordable purchase detached, semi-detached and terraced houses.

The project was backed by the Land Development Agency (LDA) in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) to realise the Government’s pledge to increase the number of new homes throughout Ireland. At the heart of it is a vision of community living and energy-efficient engineering, gaining the project an impressive Passivhaus accreditation from Mosart, Ireland and the UK’s leading Passivhaus and sustainable building experts. It formally recognises Shanganagh as an energy efficient, eco-friendly building with near-zero emissions, whilst also being uncompromising on comfort and aesthetic flare.

IN2 was appointed by Walls Construction on behalf of the LDA to provide full Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health (MEP) engineering design services. This included a comprehensive overheating assessment in accordance with CIBSE TM59 for both 2020 and 2050 weather files, a comprehensive ventilation strategy using Dynamic Thermal Modelling Software, and the implementation of a 550 kW high-temperature air-to-water heat pump. The whole estate is efficiently heated by air alone without the need for any central heating system, marking this residential development as innovative, resilient and future-proof.

With its integration of renewable heating, smart building controls, and resilient electrical infrastructure, Shanganagh exemplifies IN2’s expertise in designing large, multi-phase developments that perform efficiently from day one.