RIAI Submission on Vision, Engagement, role of the Architect and Green Infrastructure

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) welcomes the consultation process

with Kildare County Council DRAFT Development Plan 2023 – 2029. This submission includes

input from RIAI committees and taskforces:

RIAI Housing Taskforce, which is comprised of architects working in housing in both the

public and private sectors. Between the committee members and the organisations they

represent, they act as Architects, Design Team Lead, Employers Representative, Assigned

Certifier and Design Certifier for at least 50% of the housing delivery in Ireland. The

committee is therefore well positioned to comment on housing issues both in Dublin and

nationally.

The RIAI Sustainability Task Force is a committee comprised of architects working in the

public and private sectors and in education who are experienced, skilled and

knowledgeable sustainable design practitioners. The committee’s remit is to promote and

further the Architects professional obligation to take a leading role in tackling climate

change in the built environment and on large-scale master planning projects. The

committee works to promote the objectives of the RIAI Policy on Sustainability (2019) and

the commitments made by the RIAI to place the UN Sustainable Development goals at

the core of architectural practice.

RIAI Urban Design Taskforce membership consists of architects with an expertise in urban

design, including practitioners from private practice, education, and the public sector.

Promoting urban design as part of the architect’s core spatial skills and advance the

competencies in the subject, advancing the value of architects in the urban design process.

promoting the continuing inclusion of the key principles of urban design in national policy,

forward planning, and development management, creating public awareness of the

benefits that urban design brings to the quality of everyday life, and the publication of

exemplary practice and evidence-based research in the field of urban design.

RIAI Universal Design Taskforce is comprised of architects working in both the public and

private sectors. Between the committee members and the organisations they represent,

they act as Architects, Design Team Lead, Employers Representative, Assigned Certifier

and Design Certifier.