Ireland may have just got in on the public-private partnership trend started across the Irish Sea but that hasn't dampened its pioneering spirit. So rather than believe the popular wisdom that alternative procurement methods discourage sustainable design, the Irish government made energy-efficiency a key driver for one of its first education sector PPP projects. As a result, the recently completed National Maritime College project in Cork, south-west Ireland, presented a particular challenge for the engineers at Building Design Partnership. Procured by the Irish Department of Education and Science, the scheme provides education and training facilities for the Cork Institute of Technology and the non-military requirements of the Irish Naval Service (see box: "The partners behind the NMC").
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