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Green Design

With the goal of reducing energy costs and minimizing environmental impact, architects and designers are getting serious about green design. Every part of the property can be impacted and savvy designers are incorporating reclaimed materials and restorative greenery. Visit Green Lodging News for the latest news and best practices. Got news or a story idea to share? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Green Design

Home Green Design
With the goal of reducing energy costs and minimizing environmental impact, architects and designers are getting serious about green design. Every part of the property can be impacted and savvy designers are incorporating reclaimed materials and restorative greenery. Visit Green Lodging News for the latest news and best practices. Got news or a story idea to share? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Interface Facility Earns LEED-CI Gold Certification

ACWORTH, GA—The facility dedicated to housing InterfaceSERVICES—the installation and maintenance business unit of modular carpet tile manufacturer Interface—has earned LEED-CI Gold certification. The interior includes 6,636 square feet of offices plus a 26,977-square-foot warehouse operation. Randall-Paulson was the architectural firm of record for the corporate campus, with Morrison-Hershfield consulting on and overseeing the sustainability aspects for Interface. Both firms are Georgia-based. InterfaceSERVICES took occupancy in May 2011.Sustainability is a corporate pillar of Interface, and it has long applied LEED-based design principles to all of its construction projects globally, including its LEED Platinum-certified Atlanta showroom.   “Interface founder Ray Anderson was...

Viana Hotel and Spa Awarded LEED Certification from USGBC

WESTBURY, LONG ISLAND, N.Y.—The Viana Hotel and Spa announced that it has been awarded LEED Certification. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the principal program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.The Viana Hotel and Spa achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at accomplishing high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality.Operating Partner Alan Mindel of Samar Hospitality, the parent company to...

Refinishing Touch Leads Restoration Project at Best Western Hotel

ALPHARETTA, GA.—BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia, a 168-room property owned and operated by RWK Enterprises, Inc., has completed a furniture refinishing and armoire conversion project led by The Refinishing Touch. Within 30 days, The Refinishing Touch restored headboards, nightstands, side chairs, benches, desks, micro fridge cabinets and armoires in 100 rooms throughout the establishment.With 2,500 square feet of meeting space added in 2011 and only 20 miles from Philadelphia, BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia caters to a large audience of corporate professionals. The most recent furniture renovations were a result of...

Mitchell Gold Announces $10,000 Donation to SFC

HIGH POINT, N.C.—Mitchell Gold, co-founder/chairman of the home furnishings manufacturing and retail brand Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, announced that the company has become the first corporate sponsor to reach the top level of the Sustainable Furnishings Council corporate sponsor program by donating $10,000. The Sustainable Furnishings Council is a nonprofit balanced coalition of industry players founded in High Point, N.C. in 2006 to promote sustainable and safe practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers alike. Gold is one of the board members responsible for bringing the idea of a corporate sponsorship program to the SFC board back in February...

LittleFootprint Task Lights Installed at Hotel 1000

SANTA CRUZ,  CALIF.—LittleFootprint Lighting, a pioneer of sustainably designed LED task lighting products made in the United States from recycled e-waste, announced the installation of its HeronLED Personal Task Lights in all 120 guestrooms in Seattle’s Hotel 1000. Known for its hi-tech, eco-friendly rooms and on Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2013, Hotel 1000 purchased the desk lamps to provide better lighting for guests while reducing energy costs and demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and green jobs in the United States.The HeronLED Personal Task Light is the first made-in-USA LED desk lamp to earn the Energy Star and is...

Crossville Announces Latest Recycling Program Milestones

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Crossville Inc., a domestic porcelain tile manufacturer based in Crossville, Tenn., has diverted a total of 24 million pounds of porcelain from landfills since launching its Tile Take-Back program and TOTO USA recycling partnership. Both initiatives are based on Crossville’s proprietary process for recycling fired porcelain products, including post-consumer materials.Between both Tile Take-Back and the TOTO USA partnership, Crossville achieved the following in 2012: •    Recycled more than 5,550,354 pounds of fired tile produced at the company’s plants that would have previously gone to landfills; •    Received and processed more than 60,560 pounds of tile including scraps and post-consumer...

Gensler Joins ULI Greenprint Center as New Innovation Partner

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Gensler, a global design firm with more than 3,700 professionals in 43 locations on four continents, has joined the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Greenprint Center for Building Performance as its newest innovation partner. Greenprint is a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors and financial institutions committed to improving the environmental performance of the global property industry, with a focus on improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.Gensler’s work reflects an enduring commitment to sustainability, and the firm is a global leader in green design. The firm approaches every project as an opportunity to enhance building, organizational,...

Kirei Introduces Recycled Millwork Panel Collection

SAN DIEGO—Kirei’s new recycled millwork panel collection illustrates the phrase “one man’s trash is another’s treasure.” The Pacific Coastal Collection redwood and blue pine millwork panels are built using falloff from flooring or casework manufacture and waste wood from beetle-killed pine trees from across the western United States. The result is a set of design materials that turn industrial waste components into new eco-friendly interior design looks.“The material no one wants is our gold—to us it’s where the real beauty lies,” says John Stein, Kirei owner.To make the Pacific Coastal Collection, discarded redwood falloff pieces are planed to shape...

First Floating Green Building to Earn LEED Gold Certification: Cottonwood Cove Resort

SEARCHLIGHT, NEV.—Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina on Lake Mohave has made history, becoming the world’s first floating green building to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Spearheaded by the National Park Service and Forever Resorts, LLC, the marina building opened June 2011, serving as the marina’s operations office.From decking made of rice hulls to exterior stucco made of recycled tires, from the beginning, the marina was lauded for its use of green materials. The floating eco-friendly structure features sustainable modular construction and state-of-the-art energy-efficient and environmentally responsible materials...

Wide-Plank Reclaimed Flooring Now Available from Pioneer

FARMINGTON, N.Y.—Crafted entirely in the United States by Pioneer Millworks, their new wide version of Eco-Friendly Engineered wood is available in a variety of reclaimed species and grades up to 10” wide, pre-finished or unfinished.“Since our customers have increasingly requested engineered options, we decided to do something (green) about it,” explains Pioneer Millworks general manager, Jennifer Young. “Not only are we increasing the yield of rarest, most expensive products, we’re driving the price down.”The new line of eco-friendly engineered products provides the wider look of solid antique wood yet can be applied over concrete slabs and in subterranean spaces....