Green Design & Construction

Green design & construction is an extremely fascinating topic, which I hope everyone has a chance to explore at one point or another. It’s amazing how much difference “green” brings not only to the bottom line (via cost savings, tax breaks, etc.), but also to the employee health and morale (via improved indoor conditions, “feel good” vibes, etc.) and, most importantly, to environmental health (via reusing, recycling and conserving natural resources).

The built environment, which includes the building facade, the structure itself, the construction materials used, the interior design and even the surrounding landscaping, plays a tremendous role in environmental health, human welfare and economic stability. According to the US Green Building Council, 40% of US energy use is contributed to the building operation. That number goes up to almost 50% when the energy required to make building materials and construct buildings are included. Building operations alone contribute over 38% of the US’ carbon dioxide emissions and over 12% of its water consumption. Furthermore, waste from demolition, construction and remodeling makes up over 35% of all non-industrial waste.

Buildings also have a significant impact on human health. Indoor air typically contains between 2 and 5 — and occasionally greater than 100—times more pollutants than outdoor air. As a result, poor indoor air quality in buildings has been linked to significant health problems such as cancers, asthma, Legionnaires' disease and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

The take-away from all this is that there’s plenty of room for improvement in the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated. Which is where the green buildings come in …

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

• Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
• Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

For example, green buildings may incorporate sustainable materials in their construction (e.g. reused, recycled-content, or made from renewable resources); create healthy indoor environments with minimal pollutants (e.g. reduced product emissions); and/or feature landscaping that reduces water usage (e.g. by using native plants that survive without extra watering).

Green construction methods can be integrated into buildings at any stage, from design and construction, to renovation and deconstruction. However, the most significant benefits can be obtained if the design and construction team takes an integrated approach from the earliest stages of a building project. Potential benefits of green building can include:

Environmental benefits

• Enhance and protect biodiversity and ecosystems
• Improve air and water quality
• Reduce waste streams
• Conserve, restore and protect natural resources

Economic benefits

• Reduce operating costs
• Create, expand, and shape markets for green product and services
• Improve occupant productivity
• Optimize life-cycle economic performance

Social benefits

• Enhance occupant comfort and health
• Heighten aesthetic qualities
• Minimize strain on local infrastructure
• Improve overall quality of life

In the last few years, there has been a great push towards sustainability, green design and environmental awareness. Some may link this phenomenon to the concept of global warming, which is defined as continuous increase in the average temperature of Earth’s near-surface air and oceans. By employing sustainable techniques and practices, companies hope to reduce their emissions and preserve the environment to their best ability. Others will cite growing social and customer-pressures to be an environmentally-conscious company as one of the leading causes for the shift. Recent studies have shown that all else being equal, customers will choose a company that supports and advocates sustainable practices and measures.

The recent shift in the way companies and architects approach their design and construction has had a tremendous effect on the hospitality industry as well. More and more hotels around the world feature green practices and features in their properties.

A recent success story is Hyatt’s Olive 8 hotel in Seattle, WA, which received LEED Silver certification from USGBC – one of only 20 hotels in the US to be officially designated “green” by the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System.

According to Hyatt’s website, “in addition to an expected energy savings of 23 percent more than a conventional building of similar size and occupancy, Olive 8 is expected to have water savings of about 36 percent, or approximately 2.4 million gallons each year. Key elements that contribute to the energy-saving and eco-friendly nature of the building include:

• Low-flow plumbing fixtures, which use one gallon per minute less than traditional showerheads
• Dual-flush toilets that use 29 percent less water per flush
• A low-chemical mechanical water system that uses less potable water
  
• Landscaping maintenance that uses minimal city water, thanks to the use of native plant species and super-efficient irrigation systems. This system results in 99% savings from typical irrigation programs - an approximate savings of 24,000 gallons of water per year (in addition to the 2.4 million gallons saved in the building)
• In total, more than 95 percent of construction debris was diverted from landfill disposal by redirecting materials to be reused and recycled

To conserve energy, rooms are equipped with Watt Stopper® technology that only allows lights to be on while guests are in the room, dual flush Toto toilets and Bricor® water-reducing showerheads. The hotel strives to meet stringent eco-friendly standards through all of its guest services, including environmentally friendly cleaning practices, an all “green” meetings and events offering, in-room recycling and more. The hotel is also home to Urbane – a restaurant featuring a rotating, locally-sourced Pacific Northwest menu – and Elaia, an eco-friendly spa incorporating local ingredients in to its treatments.” Olive 8 has two green roofs. One is on top of the building’s chillers and is sod-based. The other is made up of trays that hold plants.

Hotels all around the world are pushing hard to go green and tell their customers all about it. The InterContinental Hotels Group has created a whole website devoted to the project. The solar powered “Innovation Hotel” will include a variety of green features including the forwarding of all unused non-perishable food to charities or food banks, solar panels on the roof to heat water, a rainwater harvesting system to supply water to toilets, a roof garden rich in shrubbery to provide extra insulation, windpower to generate electricity for the hotel, recycled glass windows, furniture and fittings made entirely from recycled materials and household waste to provide heat and power. The plan is to use the virtual property of the Innovation Hotel to gradually roll out to all IHG brands within the next few years.

The Innovation Hotel has a green roof planted with low-maintenance plants which helps keep it cool in warm weather and insulate it in winter. Natural lava stone signage at the entrance and on the lawns replaces traditional plastic and metal signs. The decor is low emission paint, all the artwork produced by local artists to ensure a low carbon-footprint and there are recycling bins for guests to use. Left over food scraps are composted to create a fertilizer for use on hotel plants and lawns. Bathrooms feature low-flow showerheads and dual flush toilets. The hotel is more of a prototype of what green could be rather than the design for any specific hotel but it is an intriguing look at the variety of green options available for hotels.

If you’re still reading this and are as fascinated by the topic as I am, you are in for one last treat … the Sustainable Suite Design Competition. USGBC has recently announced the winner of this first-ever competition for interior designers to showcase the best hospitality design strategies that boast environmental responsibility while enhancing guest experience. Because the hospitality industry is a large consumer of energy and water use, this competition aimed to motivate sustainable practices industry-wide among newly built and existing hotels.

The winning design came from the team of WATG, an amazing design and architecture firm based out of California. Their suite, Haptik, a Greek term meaning to experience interactions based on sense of touch, created a juxtaposition between sustainability and luxury by redefining the guest experience without sacrificing either ideal. The nuanced subtleties of the design were choreographed around individual moments that engage the senses, allowing the guest to discover how environmental responsibility can be achieved personally and collectively.

Design submissions were judged on three overarching categories: Design Elements (water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality); Education (guest room attributes and guest practices); and Overall Design (integrated design approach, originality and innovation, general aesthetic and financial feasibility).

Please check out the following link to see the winning entry and read about all the amazing sustainable features Haptik has to offer: CHECK OUT HAPTIK.

SOURCES:

(Source: http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2465)

(Source: http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm)

(Source: http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/whybuild.htm)

(Source: http://olive8.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/news-details.jsp?newsId=25102368)

(Source: http://www.djc.com/news/ae/12005705.html)

(Source: http://www.ihgplc.com/innovation/index.asp?pageid=23)

(Source: http://www.luxist.com/2008/05/08/intercontinental-hotel-groups-imaginary-green-hotel/)

(Source: http://www.buildings.com/ArticleDetails/tabid/3334/ArticleID/9039/Default.aspx)