3D Design Bureau

Meath County Council granted Glenveagh final permission for 356 homes at Bennetstown in Dunboyne North, Co. Meath, after a third-party appeal was withdrawn. The scheme forms another phase of Glenveagh’s wider development in the area and includes a crèche, public open space and new road, pedestrian and cycle connections.

Dublin City Council has granted final planning permission with conditions for a 547-bed purpose-built student accommodation development on Shanowen Road in Santry, Dublin 9. Known as Project Nest, the scheme will redevelop the Shanowen Business Centre site, including Kaybee House and part of Shanowen House.

Located on Glenamuck Road South, Dublin 18, The Leys has entered its final sales phase as construction continues across the development. Comprising a mix of houses, duplexes and apartments, the scheme is now progressing towards completion in 2027.

Glenveagh Homes has secured planning permission for a major 775-home Large-Scale Residential Development at Flemington South in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin. Fingal County Council initially issued its decision to grant permission in May 2026, with a subsequent appeal later withdrawn, allowing the development to move forward subject to conditions.

Construction is now complete on Phase 1 of a major mixed-use residential development on Rathborne Avenue in Dublin. The project secured planning permission from An Coimisiun Pleanala back in 2020 following amendments to an earlier approved scheme. Known as Rathborne Wharf, Phase 1 will deliver 370 homes, while construction is also progressing on Phase 2.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has issued a decision to grant permission for a new 51-home residential development on Brighton Road in Foxrock, Dublin 18. The proposed scheme will deliver a mix of apartments and family houses, alongside substantial public and communal open space within the approximately 1.2-hectare site.

Architectural visualisation supports office developments at two key stages: securing planning approval and marketing to future occupiers. We look at how CGIs, photomontages and verified view montages helped two recent projects — Westgate in Galway Business Park and Connaught House in Dublin.

The Home Performance Index (HPI), developed by the Irish Green Building Council, is a certification system that measures the quality and sustainability of new homes across different categories. This not only guides property developers’ sustainability strategies but also serves as a powerful tool for bringing homes to market.

Ireland’s planning framework is moving from Local Area Plans towards new area-based plans, but the core idea remains the same: translating higher-level policy into clear, place-specific guidance for a defined area. That guidance typically covers issues such as land use, density, height and built form, movement, and the public realm.

Hotel projects need to be understood, discussed and promoted long before they are built. In that sense, they are not so different to other types of development. What tends to vary is what people need to see early on. For planning and stakeholder engagement, for example, the priority is accuracy and context, clear representation of massing, materials and how the proposal sits within its surrounding environment.

Following last year’s article on the key trends shaping the AEC industry, we are back to share what we believe will define 2026. These trends are not entirely new. Many were already building momentum in 2025. The difference this year is that they are becoming more connected, with better data, clearer processes, and higher expectations around certainty, speed, and quality.

As 2025 draws to a close, the CIS Construction Industry Forecast 2025–2027 provides a look at what the next phase of growth could mean for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Welcome to Ep. 1 of the 3D Design Podcast. We have scoured the internet’s biggest forums, search engine queries, and keywords to find the web’s most asked questions about architectural […]