The Irish Times

Innovation is not a word that springs to mind when one thinks of Irish builders and property developers. Cautious, conservative and even reactionary, they have been so slow in taking new ideas on board that even these ideas are already passé by the time they become the norm. Nowhere is this snail-like progress more glaringly evident than in the field of ecological design. Despite all the hot air about sustainable development, few developers - or, indeed, architects - have been willing to take the plunge into this particular pool, with its strange notions of a greener future. A trail of sorts was blazed six years ago by Murray O'Laoire's Green Building in Temple Bar, designed in collaboration with Conservation Engineering. But it wouldn't have happened at all without the commitment of key individuals in Temple Bar Properties and the availability of generous EU grant aid.