Ar C.J. Walsh Technical Blog – Registered Architect, Fire Engineer & Independent Technical/Building Controller …… International Expert on Accessibility for All (including Fire Safety) + 'Real' Sustainability Implementation !
2009-12-07: The beauty of the Irish countryside is hard to beat. A few dry days are all we need … and to be able to see the sun occasionally ! Make that … more than occasionally !!
Colour photograph of ‘Upper Lake at Glendalough’ – Autumn Scene. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2009-10-26.
It is breathtaking to imagine the Climatic & Geological Upheavals – hundreds of thousands of years ago – which created the Valley of Two Lakes: ‘Gleann Dá Locha’ in Irish, or ‘Glendalough’ in English.
Colour photograph of ‘Autumn Trees’ at Glendalough, County Wicklow, Ireland. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2009-10-26.
It is comforting to know that we once had – hundreds of years ago – a Better System of Irish Law: ‘Féineachas’ in Irish, or more commonly known as ‘Brehon Law’ in English.
2009-10-30: And now … for something completely different …
Well worth a visit, whenever you are passing, is the War Cemetery in Glencree, County Wicklow … about 20-25 Km south of Dublin City, in the Wicklow Mountains.
I passed by last Monday (2009-10-26) … a public holiday … in the late afternoon …
It is a calming, restful place. And ever present in the background … is the sound of a neighbouring stream …
Colour photograph showing the Mountain Stream beside the War Cemetery in Glencree, Co. Wicklow. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh in the late afternoon. 2009-10-26 T 16:11
2009-04-30: I was away in Lund recently … it’s one of the big university towns in the south of Sweden … attending an important meeting of CIB Working Commission 14 : Fire. CIB stands for ‘Conseil International du Bâtiment’ (International Council of Building Research).
CIB W14 is an international, multi-stakeholder, trans-disciplinary, pre-normalization forum for discussion on research and innovation in Built Environment Fire Engineering.
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Colour photograph showing the Dinner for participants at the CIB W14 & ISO TC92 Meetings which were held in Lund University during Week 17. Our very friendly Host was Mr. Robert Jönsson, Head (and Associate Professor) of the Department of Fire Safety Engineering & Systems Safety at Lund University. 30 of his students also attended the Dinner. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2009-04-23.
Successful meetings, and presentations(!), in Lund … and, on the return journey home, successful business in Stockholm … the weather was marvellous throughout …
Colour photograph showing Kungsträdgården, a principal piazza in Central Stockholm lined with Cherry Blossoms, on a beautiful, sunny April evening. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2009-04-25.
2009-03-06: In August 2008 … I travelled to Bengaluru (Bangalore), in the south of India, to attend a Fire Conference organized by the Fire & Safety Association of India (FSAI).A year earlier, I had been with them in Chennai (Madras), also in the south. My own father, Con, had been a teacher in the north of the country from about 1930 onwards, so I had always wanted to see the country for myself. He was caught there, by the way, during the 2nd World War and could only travel back home, to Ireland, in 1947.
Much to the amusement of local people, the means of transport I decided to use … guaranteeing a vivid experience of the varied local sights, sounds and smells … was an Auto-Rickshaw … a three-wheeled scooter, with an open yellow cab on the back.It is a common form of transport in the large cities of India. This was a serious effort … no messing around in the sealed cocoon of an air-conditioned taxi !
These 2 Photographs were taken during the rush hour traffic, early one morning, in Bengaluru. The roads were jammed solid with traffic … every type of vehicle … crawling along at a snail’s pace.The driver of my Auto-Rickshaw was bent over the handlebars … always coughing … heaving a loud, jagged-rough, deep cough …
Colour Photograph showing the View from Inside an Auto-Rickshaw during Morning Rush Hour Traffic in Bengaluru, Southern India. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2008-08-07.
The reason for his coughing … you can see an actual pollution haze to the right of the frame below … a haze so thick, that it almost had to be parted with your hands in order to see ahead …
Colour Photograph showing the Pollution Haze during Morning Rush Hour Traffic in Bengaluru, Southern India. Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2008-08-07.
This is the reality of everyday life on the ground in one of the economically more advanced ‘developing’ countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa (BRICS) – where far too many people are chasing the dream of our reality in Europe … a reality created from the plunder, over hundreds of years, of those same ‘developing’ countries.
This is why the European Union must lead by ‘real’ example when it comes to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.But, is it ‘real’ ????
This is why Ireland must begin to properly face up to its responsibilities under Kyoto I, the EU 2020 Targets, and a probable Kyoto II International Agreement to be finalized in Copenhagen towards the end of 2009.
This is why the United States of America must stop prancing around our fragile planet like a spoiled, immature child … and engage seriously with the rest of us.We have lost all patience !
On 28th January 2009, the European Commission issued COM(2009) 39 final …
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee & the Committee of the Regions – Towards a Comprehensive Climate Change Agreement in Copenhagen.
On Page 2 of the Communication, the Executive Summary commences …
‘ The successful conclusion of the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 is a key priority for the European Union (EU).Now that the Climate & Energy package has been adopted, the EU must step up its contacts with third Countries, both in the UN context and beyond.’
A paragraph later, it continues …
‘ In order to limit the global average temperature increase to not more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, developed countries as a group should reduce their emissions to 30% below 1990 levels in 2020. The EU has set the example by committing to a 20% reduction in its emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2020, irrespective of whether or not an international agreement is concluded. This is by far the most ambitious commitment by any country or group of countries in the world for the post-2012 period.
The EU is willing to go further and sign up to a 30% reduction target in the context of a sufficiently ambitious and comprehensive international agreement that provides for comparable reductions by other developed countries, and appropriate actions by developing countries. Developing countries as a group should limit the growth of their emissions to 15-30% below business as usual.’
2009-02-12:So … Anglo-Irish Bank has been caught – finally – playing with numbers and cooking the books.And … because of inadequate (i.e. a complete lack of effective) control by the National Financial Regulator, this was regarded as a routine, ‘smart’ transaction by privileged individuals.“What is the problem ?” … they ask … “no laws were being broken”.
Holding firmly onto those thoughts, let us briefly turn our attention to the Construction Sector … and the Energy Performance of Buildings …
A new Home Energy Savings (HES) Scheme was recently announced by Mr. Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources … €100 million Insulation Scheme to Benefit 50,000 Homes – Programme Will Create 4,000 Jobs … according to an article in The Irish Times, on Monday 9th February 2009, by Mr. Harry McGee.
Reading the Department of Energy’s own Press Release for the Scheme Launch, dated 2009-02-08 … it is evident that public relations consultants, marketing gurus, senior academics (who should know better) and civil servants were involved in producing ‘paper’ numbers to justify and support the miserable grants being offered in the HES Scheme. Numbers were even presented for ‘Typical Net BER Improvement’ ?!?
When the Scheme is eventually up and running, Thermal Insulation Contractors will be required to comply with a voluntary Energy Ireland (SEI) ‘Contractors Code of Practice & Standards and Specifications Guidelines’ (version 1, 2009-02-03) … and SEI may or may not carry out control inspections in order to monitor the quality of their work. Does all this sound familiar ?
But … are these paper energy numbers ‘real’ ? If he thinks so, Mr. Eamon Ryan is living in Alice’s Wonderland !
This is a photograph, taken back in 2000, of expanded polystyrene insulation which was badly installed in an external cavity wall … very badly installed !When the Irish Construction Industry would later enter extreme ‘over-heat’ mode, the quality of typical construction would deteriorate sharply.
Colour Photograph of an External Cavity Wall, showing ‘Floating’ Thermal Insulation (and, in the background, an Inclined Steel Wall Tie which will later facilitate water ingress). Click to enlarge. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2000-01-19.
Who can know what is happening inside that cavity when it is all finished and covered up from view ?Nobody.Unless, that is, you manage to take an Infra-Red Thermal Image during the next winter heating season – which is far too late to remedy the problem.
This is an example of an Infra-Red Thermal Image, taken back in 1998 …
Colour Image, with explanatory Text and Horizontal Temperature Bar below, showing the ‘Real’ Energy Performance of a Building. Click to enlarge. Project Architect: CJ Walsh. Image taken by sub-contractor in 1998.
Explaining the Current Context in Ireland …
It was 10 Years after the Dublin Stardust Fire Tragedy (February 1981) … before the first legal, National Building Regulations were introduced (December 1991); they became operational during the following summer of 1992. Around the same time, Building Control Authorities were being established in every Local Authority.
Prior to this, legal Building Bye-Laws were operated in just a small number of our major urban centres.
Dublin Corporation’s Bye-Laws with respect to the Construction of Buildings, adopted by Dublin City Council on 27th June 1949, were an interesting mix of functional, performance and prescriptive requirements.An Application, containing detailed construction information, for Building Bye-Law Approval had to be made for every construction project … and I mean ‘every’ project … prior to any construction commencing.And, ‘every’ project was inspected at the foundation and drainage stages of construction … no exceptions.The more complex projects were inspected as they progressed further, with special attention being paid, for example, to fire safety related construction.I know, first-hand, that the surveyors and inspectors in Dublin Corporation’s (as it was then called) Building Control Section had built up a considerable wealth of knowledge and understanding about construction conditions and practices right around the city and suburbs.
Anyway … after the introduction of the National Building Regulations, an unwritten national policy was put into action … having as an aim the winding down, and general ‘castration’, of the large, well-established Building Control Sections in Dublin City and County, and Cork.Meanwhile … in the rush to establish the new Building Control Authorities throughout the rest of the country, it was common to hear of Road Engineers being transferred into the new Control Authorities … usually having little or no experience in dealing with the construction of buildings.
Site Inspections under our current system of National Building Regulations are random.Inspection Statistics produced by the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DEHLG) are not reliable. Building Control Authorities are, purposefully, not sufficiently resourced to be ‘effective’.
Commencement Notices, under the National Building Control Regulations, do not have to be accompanied by detailed construction information when being submitted to a Building Control Authority.
Fire Safety Certificates, under the National Building Control Regulations, do not involve any Site Inspections – at any stage – by Fire Authorities.
Some Conclusions …
The above is a rather long, but simplified, explanation as to why a large number of privileged property developers and shoddy building contractors have been allowed to flourish on Irish Construction Sites without ever understanding the concept of ‘effective’ technical control.When they do eventually meet this concept, head-on, the level of their resentment can be without limit.
Before the recent property crash, did you ever try to present a builder with a Snag List on a new house ?
This will also put SEI’s 70% rate of non-compliance into an understandable context.See my earlier Post, dated 2008-12-12.
With regard to BER Certificates … BER Assessors without any sort of architectural background are not competent to assess the construction of existing buildings … and those BER Assessors with an architectural background cannot possibly evaluate, with reliability, the construction of existing buildings without the use, for example, of Infra-Red Thermography and Air Seepage Testing.
BER Assessment of Historical Buildings is unsuitable, and not appropriate.
2009-02-02: The 1949 film: The Third Man … directed by Carol Reed, with the haunting zither music of Anton Karas, and starring Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles and Trevor Howard … also ‘stars’ the war-damaged city of Vienna, in Austria.
Although talked about right from the beginning, we never actually see the character of ‘Harry Lime’, played by Orson Welles, until late in the film.It is a pivotal scene.He is just a black shadow standing in a dark doorway … when suddenly, a light from an upstairs window across the street shines on his face … and we see that roguish smile !
Black and white image of ‘Harry Lime’, played by Orson Welles, in a pivotal scene late in the film: ‘The Third Man’. Click to enlarge.
Click the Link Above to Download and/or Play this Film Soundtrack Clip (mp3 File, 3.23 Mb)
Finding and following the film locations for The Third Man offers a very interesting way to discover today’s Vienna.The ‘doorway’ is located off Schreyvogelgasse, on Mölker Bastei.Here are three recent photographs, taken in March 2008 …
