by Jbs110909 i — November 11, 2009—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in conjunction with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and NEWH (The Hospitality Industry Network), has announced the winners of its first Sustainable Suite Design Competition. This competition for interior designers aims to showcase the best hospitality design strategies that boast environmental responsibility while enhancing guest experience. Submissions from 65 professional designers and aspiring young professionals were received.
The winning Professional Competition design came from the team of WATG, a destination design firm, which led the creative design and specification process, in conjunction with IDEO, an innovation and design firm that brought expertise on human-centered sustainability. 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.
Among the winning strategies were energy-reducing features such as an “all-off ” switch to ensure lights are automatically turned off based on passive infrared sensors (PIS) and room conditioning equipped by a four-pipe horizontal fan-coil system. Additionally, water use was also key in reducing environmental impact as the Haptik suite includes a Trombe wall in the shower that captures solar heat to warm the shower water and a graywater irrigation system that filters and recycles shower water to outdoor gardens and landscaping.
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). As the winners, the WATG and IDEO team will build and showcase their design at the 2010 Hospitality Design Expo and Conference in Las Vegas.
The Student and Young Professional winner was the Starter Kits, a team from Parsons New School for Design that educates young professionals in metropolitan areas about more efficient ways to live sustainably. Their design, Front Street Hotel in Brooklyn, NY, retrofits an existing building as the hotel location and “pays homage to the area’s industrial, manufacturing past while being contemporaneous with the present-day artsy vibrancy of the neighborhood.” The design includes an interactive kiosk for guests to learn about the hotel’s sustainable elements such as pre-loaded subway fare cards in each guest room encouraging mass transit use, use of salvaged wood throughout, and constructing a green roof.
