Offaly will be home to national centre demonstrating modern building methods

A MAJOR facility which will demonstrate modern building methods is being planned for Mount Lucas.

The National Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) will be built by Laois & Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) at the National Construction Training Centre.

“It's the first of its kind ever in Ireland,” said centre manager John Kelly.

“There are different types around the world but this will be the first one in Ireland and it will be great to have it in our locality because it will provide jobs and more importantly it will provide a sounding board for the industry and the idea is we will provide pads and industry will come in and build the houses for us. It's a partnership approach which will make it successful.”

The demonstration park will comprise a number of different types of houses and dwellings, from standard two-storey houses to a three-storey apartment block with a retail unit on the ground floor.

The buildings will showcase a range of modern construction methods and the project is being developed in conjunction with Technological University Dublin and the University of Galway.

Mr Kelly said the demonstration park will be a “fully immersive environment” for students and trainees.

The buildings will be of light gauge steel, timber frame and possibly ICF (Insulated Concrete Formwork) with the focus on modern methods.

The colleges the LOETB is twinning with will focus on research and development while the practical applications will be on display in Mount Lucas.

The demonstration park will be a dramatic improvement on construction shows and expos where cut-outs are often used.

“Here you'll be able to go in the front door and through the whole house and interact with it fully,” said Mr Kelly.

In addition to the demonstration buildings, the project will involve a nearly zero energy building (NZEB) and retrofitting training unit, similar to the facilities already in place in Mount Lucas.

A third important element will be student accommodation and it is anticipated that learners will be travelling from all over the country to the site.

Along with the third level institutions, the LOETB will deliver the project in conjunction with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Further and Higher Education, and Solas, the funding body.

A document prepared by an architect for a planning application indicated that a water feature could run through part of the complex of buildings, mimicking the form of a canal, “a relatable landmark across the Midlands”.

A pre-planning meeting was held remotely with Offaly County Council last year.

The existing facilities at Mount Lucas include NZEB and retrofitting training units, scaffolding training, utilities training, tower crane training and driving training using simulators.

There is currently a focus on fitting external insulation in the home retrofitting facility but there is also an example of a heat pump which gives an on-the-spot illustration of the technology.

Training at the centre is fully funded, resulting in no cost to employees' companies and the LOETB continually works with industry to develop courses which suit particular needs.

Along with identification of a gap in retrofitting skills, it was recognised that a deficit existed in skills required for utilities development, especially public water infrastructure.

The LOETB worked with the civil engineers' association, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and Uisce Eireann (Irish Water) to develop a utilities traineeship.

The course covers everything from small domestic piping that goes into a house up to large scale pipes and waste water treatment, with trainees attaining an accredited award which never existed in Ireland before.

Both employed people and school leavers can take the course. “We can train you from very green, all the way up,” commented Mr Kelly.

“We try to replicate what you see in the real world out there. The feedback has been extremely positive from the civil engineers body, CIF and Uisce Eireann.”

The 33-acre construction training campus site was originally owned by Bord na Mona and adjoins the energy company's Mount Lucas wind farm. The land is now fully controlled by the LOETB and there are plans to enlarge the site.

There are a number of vehicles used for training, as well as the crane, which is operated by Aidan Smyth, and the LOETB also has an articulated truck which functions as a mobile training unit and travels the country, bringing courses to students.

The on-site simulators (similar to a flight training simulator used for airline pilots) include a digger, an articulated dump truck and a crane.