Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture and the Built Environment: Passivhaus for the Public Sector – Reducing Risk, Cost & Carbon Symposium 2026

At the heart of the event was one clear question: how do we make Passive House the norm across the public sector? 

Hosted by the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) and co-led by the Passive House Association of Ireland and the Passive House Trust, the session combined policy insight, technical expertise, and real-world housing experience 

From Niche to Necessity 

Andrew Haley, Chair of MAG, set the tone early. Passive House is no longer a “nice-to-have.” If we are serious about quality, resilience, and long-term value in public buildings, it needs to become standard practice, particularly across the public estate. 

He made one thing clear, conferences alone won’t create change. What matters is shifting behaviour through policy, procurement, skills, and culture. This event, alongside the webinar series, is about moving from advocacy to delivery at scale. 

Collaboration Across Borders 

Ann-Marie Fallon, Co-Director of Passive House Trust and Mentor at Architype, and Caroline Ashe Brady, Chairperson to the Passive House Association of Ireland and Commercial & Sustainability Director at KORE Insulation and KORE Retrofit, highlighted the growing all-island momentum. 

Northern Ireland has led the way in commercial Passive House delivery. The Republic, particularly Dublin, has seen significant domestic growth. Across the island, around 4,000 Passive House units are currently on site. 

Meanwhile, Scotland is preparing to embed Passive House equivalency into Technical Standards by 2028. This is a major step that will raise expectations around public building quality and long-term value. Similar discussions are underway across Wales and the rest of the UK, with Passive House influencing standards such as the Future Homes Standard, an upcoming UK government building regulation, aimed to reduce carbon emissions. 

What Passive House Really Means 

Ann-Marie Fallon turned the conversation to the fundamentals, outlining the five-core fabric-first principles: high levels of insulation, excellent airtightness, minimised thermal bridging, high-performance windows with rational glazing, and MVHR ventilation. 

She stressed that the technical pillars are only part of the picture. Passive House also relies on process: clear briefs, evidence-based modelling, and a strong culture of quality assurance. 

The benefits aren’t just about energy. Buildings are more comfortable, healthier to live and work in, and simpler to manage day to day. Over time, running and maintenance costs become much easier to predict. 

She shared an example from a Scottish council whom, after decades of conventional school building, defects were widespread, however, their first Passive House school showed no defects after three years, demonstrating the value of doing things differently. 

Early Design and Change Management 

Sally Godber, Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Passivhaus Certifier, and Director of WARM & Coaction, tackled one of the biggest misconceptions, that Passive House is technically difficult. 

The reality is that the main barriers are organisational rather than technical. The choices made early in design have the biggest impact on cost, carbon footprint, and overall quality. She described the “triangle of pain” between cost, carbon, and design freedom, showing that simplicity is often the smartest route to low-cost, low-carbon outcomes. 

Working on larger programmes gives teams the chance to learn, refine their approach, and reduce risks along the way. Individual projects can struggle if Passive House is treated as an add-on rather than embedded from day one. 

The key message is to get the right people involved from the very beginning, with architects, cost consultants, and Passive House specialists working together from concept stage. Certifiers guide the process rather than just ticking boxes, and written tenders on their own are insufficient to ensure the necessary quality and assurance.  Mindset and capability matter just as much as technical expertise. 

Case Study: Tuath Housing – Whitehaven, Dublin 

Jennifer Whitty, Sustainability Manager at Tuath Housing, Dublin, shared lessons from Whitehaven in Dublin, one of Ireland’s first large-scale Passive House housing schemes. 

The development includes 255 apartments across five blocks, 161 cost rental and 94 social housing. Prefabricated bathroom pods and modular construction helped deliver cost certainty, consistent quality, and airtightness performance. 

The key takeaway was operational. Tuath invested heavily in staff training across housing, tenancy, and asset management teams, alongside tenant onboarding and ongoing engagement. Quarterly clinics and tailored guidance help residents understand MVHR systems, panel heating, and energy-efficient living. 

Early post-occupancy monitoring shows strong comfort levels, high tenant satisfaction, and lower-than-expected space heating demand. The buildings perform, and so do the communities within them. 

Queen’s University Belfast: Passive House as Baseline 

Queen’s University Belfast is embedding Passive House within its Net Zero by 2040 strategy. 

Nathan Campbell, Estates Manager – Sustainable Construction of Queen’s, explained the scale of the challenge. The university has more than 300 buildings, 25,000 students, and 5,000 staff, spanning heritage assets and energy-intensive research facilities. 

Weavers Hall, the university’s first Passive House student accommodation, sets a new benchmark. It includes 459 bedrooms across repetitive floorplates for energy predictability, a reinforced concrete structure with SFS infill, all-electric heating and decentralised MVHR, blue roof attenuation, and a BREEAM Excellent target. 

The design focuses on repeatability, simplicity, and easy learning, turning the building into a living lab. Post-occupancy evaluation will play a key role in closing the performance gap. 

Government Perspective: Passive House as an Enabler 

Closing the session, Nicola Donnelly, Head of Architecture Branch at the Department for Communities, Northern Ireland Civil Service, looked at Passive House from a wider government perspective. 

For Nicola, Passive House is not a niche sustainability badge. It is a practical tool that can help deliver two key Programme for Government priorities: more social, affordable and sustainable homes and a stronger, greener economy. 

She explained that standards like Passive House do more than make homes warmer and healthier. They also help grow green skills and support local supply chains. Nicola pointed out that the government already has tools to make this shift easier, using our existing processes more effectively such as benefits realisation plans, post-occupancy evaluations, and smarter procurement approaches Government can prioritise quality and long-term performance, rather than the cheapest upfront cost. 

The bottom line is that Passive House fits with existing policy goals. The real work now is making it part of everyday practice so that decisions about design, construction, and operation always consider long-term value, not just upfront cost. 

Pulling It Together 

A clear story emerged over the course of the day. Policy leadership is raising expectations, the technical foundations are proven, and early collaboration and simplicity make a real difference. Competent teams and engaged occupants, supported by data, are what close the loop. 

Passive House is no longer experimental. With the right frameworks and focus, high-performance public buildings are becoming the norm rather than the exception. 

As several speakers put it, the question is no longer whether we can afford Passive House. The real question is whether we can afford not to.

Next Steps

The event marked the launch of a three-part online lunchtime webinar series. 

Please find links to the recordings of all three:

• The first webinar was on Small Scale Public Projects – The Spencer Building Passivhaus Case Study
• The second was on Delivering Low Carbon Buildings at Scale
• The third was on Public Sector Housing Delivery - Learning from Peabody's Deptford Landings project
• MAG symposium 2026 presentations
• MAG symposium 2026 gallery