Drive 0 - Deep Energy Retrofit in Housing via Circular Modular Solutions -
Conference 11th May, Athlone
The Drive 0 EU H2020 funded research project supports the exploration & demonstration of #MMC, #housing #retrofit, enhanced #circularity & the potential for #digitaltransformation & largescale rollout across Europe.
The Irish demonstrator project utilizes #biobased insulations and focused on 2D and 3D circular design solutions incorporating #DfD. #TUDublin are the academic partners; Coady Architects with John Sisk & Son Ltd and Vision-Build are the industry partners and Westmeath County Council provided the #socialhousing dwellings to retrofit.
The all-day conference on Thursday 11th May in Athlone is a unique opportunity to gain insights from the Irish and international participants of Drive 0 and to visit the case study dwellings. Book your tickets now on Eventbrite.
Research and Demonstration Project
Drive 0 is an EU research and innovation project, funded under Horizon2020, demonstrating the application of circular – modular solutions in the deep energy retrofit of housing (and buildings) across Europe via several pilot projects, one of them located in Athlone, Ireland. www.drive0.eu
TUDublin’s School of Architecture, Building and Environment acted as the lead researchers for the Irish demonstrator project in partnership with Coady Architects and Vision Built as industry partners and in association with SISK as main contractor and building owners Westmeath County Council. 
The Irish demonstration case undertook a deep energy retrofit, targeting a 65% energy efficiency reduction of two partially retrofitted 1970’s semi dethatched two story houses of traditional masonry and timber construction. The main project innovation was the development of modularized panels for upgrading of the walls and provision of a simple extension ‘pod’ incorporating circular design strategies. 
Circularity is a concept, which broadly aims to retain resources within an economy or supply chain to limit resource input and waste output at end of life. Within the building context this impacts on building adaptability and flexibility, with construction design and material specification being critical factors, and design for disassembly (DfD) being clearly at the heart of circularity as it facilitates the re-utilization of elements, components, products and materials back into the supply – use chain.
The modularized wall panel solution for the Irish retrofit was based on adapting an existing light gauge steel structural wall system to function as a demountable, pre-finished wall panel incorporating circularity principles, notably advanced DfD at all levels in the relevant construction hierarchy and utilizing biobased materials where possible in the construction.
The Irish demonstrator panel solution was developed in the context of ongoing circularity and DfD assessments within the Drive 0 project, which developed critical insights into circularity – DfD principles and influenced the development of specific technical solutions and specification both for disassembly and materiality of the Irish modularised panel.
The project has developed knowledge and insight in circular design principles, strategies and solutions and demonstrated technical viability of circular modular constructions in deep energy retrofit, with potential for large scale application in Ireland and the EU.
- TU Dublin Drive 0 Project Team
- Patrick Daly (SABE) - Principle Investigator
- Paula Gallego Barril (SABE) - Research Assistant
- Dr Philippe Lemarchand (Marei) - Monitoring Research
- Joseph Little (SABE) - Support
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 841850.