NATIONAL REPORT—For many designers, and the clients they represent, interior doors’ value as a design element has slowly diminished in recent years. No more the attention-grabbing “wall furniture” of the classical period and unlike their contemporary hardwood kin in floors and cabinetry, wood doors have been largely commoditized. For many, a door is just a door. But to those in the industry—and for a rapidly growing number of astute practitioners in the design/building community—doors have been rediscovered as a “haute commodity” in interior design. Interior doors are enjoying a significant renaissance as new materials, fabrication technologies and sustainable design invigorate...

ANDERSON, CALIF.—Gaia at Anderson, a new 122-room green hotel, has opened here. It is the second Gaia hotel in California to be developed and opened by Wen-I Chang. The first was the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa in American Canyon. That 133-room property opened in October 2006. Chang is also developing a third hotel in Merced, Calif., a 141-room property. Chang expects the Gaia at Anderson hotel to achieve a LEED Silver or Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa was the first U.S. hotel to earn LEED Gold. In building...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—The Atlantic City Council voted unanimously on April 23 to require all casinos there to be nonsmoking by Oct. 15 with the option of building enclosed smoking rooms. All of New Jersey’s 11 casinos are located in Atlantic City. Although the state law banned smoking indoors except for casinos, the current city ordinance restricted the smoking areas to 25 percent of the gaming floor of casinos. However, the smoking areas were not contiguous and not enclosed. Under the new ordinance, the enclosed smoking room(s) cannot exceed 25 percent of the gaming floor space and gaming will...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Albert Einstein said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” As a leader in the hospitality industry, Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide is setting an example and influencing others by promoting healthy lifestyles through a 100 percent smoke-free environment. The four most-recent hotel members to join FreshStay’s ranks of more than 3,500 guaranteed smoke-free properties around the United States, Canada and the world, are affiliated with Carlson’s hotel brands. These new members include: Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis; Radisson Hotel Central Dallas; Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown; and Country Inn...

MINNEAPOLIS—The Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis announced that it has completed its conversion to a 100 percent smoke-free facility, including all public areas, meeting rooms and guestrooms. The month-long extensive cleaning process—including shampooing carpet and upholstered furniture, dry cleaning, painting, and other deep cleaning—focused on converting approximately 30 guestrooms to be smoke free at an investment of more than $15,000. “Our decision to become 100 percent smoke free reflects our commitment to providing guests with a clean, comfortable and healthy stay,” said Judith Kalfon, general manager of the Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis. “The conversion is a significant enhancement for the hotel...

ROSWELL, GA.—Commercial and institutional buildings have a new way to remove odors and other irritant gaseous contaminants from their HVAC system air stream: new Kimberly-Clark brand odor control filtration media from Kimberly-Clark Filtration Products. The filtration media delivers particulate filtration performance with added odor removal technology to deliver clean, fresh, odor-free air, thanks in part to its two-layer construction. The upstream layer provides particulate filtration and protects the downstream carbon layer from particulate loading, to ensure maximum odor removal capability. The downstream layer is made of activated carbon, one of the strongest physical adsorbents, which rapidly adsorbs and retains gaseous...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Alen Corp. announced the release of AirMD, an air purifier that is completely lead free, ozone safe, and Energy Star qualified by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The four-speed AirMD marries modern décor-enhancing design with a HEPA filtration system, UV lamp set to last three to five years, ionizer, and 24-hour programmable timer. Eco-conscious individuals suffering from the agony of cigarette smoke, pet dander, allergies, cooking odors, dust, pollen, dust, and bacteria now have a powerful yet compact air cleaning solution. “We are delighted to be offering the first lead-free air purifier...

KISSIMMEE, FLA.—Gaylord Hotels and The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) welcomed Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center into the Florida Green Lodging Program. The 1,406-room resort is one of the largest in that state to participate, and the first in Osceola County’s popular Kissimmee resort corridor. In addition, the resort announced the upcoming rollout of a new guest communications program, called “We’re Eco-Logical”, designed to share the spirit of the resort’s eco-friendly initiatives with guests and meeting planners, while encouraging them to take an active role in the programs. “Together with the citizens of Osceola County, we have created one...

NORTH WALPOLE, N.H.—Len-Tex Corp. announced that the entire line of its Surface iQ non-vinyl wallcovering has earned the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certification at the Silver tier for healthy and sustainable product design from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). Surface iQ is the only printed commercial grade wallcovering to have earned this certification. In order for products to be certified under Cradle to Cradle guidelines, both the product and all components must pass rigid material requirements for environmental and human health. Additional criteria for certification include product and material reutilization, energy and water usage during production as well as social...

MARIETTA, GA.—In a recently completed study funded by Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI), there was preliminary evidence that “green” low-emitting products may still cause increased chemicals in indoor environments. The study, conducted by Chi Phuong Hoang, a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin’s Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering program, revealed that even “green” wall, flooring, ceiling and cabinetry materials can cause “secondary” emission of chemicals when exposed to naturally occurring ozone in the indoor air. Many green materials are bio-based and, as a consequence, may react even with low levels of ozone that naturally occur...