Arbour Hill complex reopens

LORD Mayor of Dublin, Nial Ring, officially opened a newly refurbished block at St Bricin’s Senior Citizen Complex, Arbour Hill, earlier this month.

Eleven housing units in the block have been fully redesigned to enable more comfortable and accessible living for senior citizens who have recently moved in.

As part of the refurbishment, every two existing bedsits were converted into one-bedroomed apartments, providing the residents with more space, accessibility and comfort.

The block at St Bricin’s has achieved a Passive House Standard certification, awarded by the accredited German Passivhaus Institute, meaning that the apartments boast the highest building energy efficiency standards.

“This is a wonderful development for the elderly community around the area,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Most importantly, the scheme enables residents to remain in their local neighbourhood but in more appropriate and comfortable accommodation.

“These new larger homes mean that they will be able to really enjoy their living space and have the lovely surrounding community.”

Block 1 of St Bricin’s Park was completed in 2016 and Block 3 in 2018. The upgrades in the complex not only provide increased comfort and space for residents, but the new units will also help to reduce carbon emissions and fuel bills for residents due to the energy efficient design.

The improvements to St Bricin’s have also resulted in providing newly accessible units at ground floor for elderly residents with mobility issues.

During the design and construction phase, contractors were required to undertake training in passive house building and so a bespoke course for the ‘Passive House Tradesperson Course’ was arranged for the construction team during the development of the complex.

Tradespersons, electricians, plumbers and mechanical services technicians, along with members of Dublin City Council’s design and maintenance staff in architectural, electrical and mechanical services took part in the course.

Twenty people successfully participated and many went on to complete the Passive House Institute exam in 2018.