The project used many techniques for saving energy and waste with the result that
• The building uses 39% less energy than a conventional hotel/restaurant by using ultra efficient materials and the latest construction technology.
• The sun’s energy heats hot water with 100 solar panels covering the 4,000 square feet of rooftop (enough hot water for a hundred homes). This heats around 60% of the water for both the hotel and restaurant.
• 700 linear feet of stream was restored by reducing erosion, planting local, adaptable plant species and rebuilding the buffers and banks. Approximately 700 cubic yards of soil was removed to create a floodplain bench. And 376 tons of boulders and 18 logs were used to maintain grade control, dissipate energy and assist in the creation and maintenance of riffles and pools.
• The bistro bar is made of salvaged, solid walnut trees that came down through sickness or storm and room service trays made of Plyboo.
• Newly-engineered variable speed hoods in the restaurant uses a series of sensors to set the power according to the kitchen's needs and adjusts to a lower level of operation (typically 25% of their full capacity). The sensors also detect heat, smoke or other effluents and increase the fan speed to keep the air fresh.
• Geothermal energy is used for the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment, instead of a standard water-cooled system, saving significant amounts of water.
• North America's first Regenerative Drive elevator reduces net energy usage by capturing the system’s energy as lifts move downward and feeding it back into the building’s internal electrical grid.
• Building materials with recycled content include reinforced steel with 90% post consumer recycled content, sheetrock 100%, asphalt 25% and staircase steel 50%. Concrete contains 4% fly ash (224,000 pounds), the mineral residue left after the combustion of coal that is diverted from landfills.
• 87% of construction waste was recycled, diverting 1,535 tons of debris from landfills.
• Water usage has been reduced by 33% by installing high-efficiency Kohler plumbing fixtures, saving two million gallons of water the first year.
• Air quality improved by circulating large amounts of outside air into guestrooms (60 cubic feet per minute) and doing so in an energy efficient way by employing “energy recovery” technology where the outside air is tempered by the air being exhausted. .
• Low-emitting volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, adhesives, carpets, etc reduces indoor air contamination.
• Guestroom shelving and the bistro’s tabletops are made of walnut veneer, over a substrate of SkyBlend, a particleboard made from 100% post-industrial recycled wood pulp with no added formaldehyde.
• A green, vegetated rooftop will be planted on the restaurant to reduce the “urban heat island effect.” In other words, the green roof reflects the heat, thus reducing the amount of energy needed for refrigeration and/or air conditioning. It also slows the rain runoff and insulates the rooftop, keeping the building cooler overall.
The result is not just an hotel that is saving money on operational costs (the upside of going green is lower costs for energy and water consumption) but also a building that has striking interiors that are more person friendly than many other interiors.
HotelDesigns is delighted to find an hotelier that not only values design but also recognises the need to design buildings in harmony with the environment, with a sense of appropriateness to the location and a sense of history, something quite rare (see Bushmans Kloof as another, different, example of working with the environment)
