CHICAGO—Six hundred bucks is not a bad monthly electricity bill for a 15-story, 63-room urban hotel. Granted, The Ivy Hotel has not opened yet but general manager James Cazares says public space lighting has been burning 24/7. Key to the tiny bill last month is LED recessed lighting—MR16 bulbs that consume just one watt each. LED lighting is just one of the many green facets of the luxury boutique Chicago property set to open at the end of April.Just over a block from Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Near North neighborhood, The Ivy Hotel was once an office building. The...

GLEN RAVEN, N.C.—Glen Raven Custom Fabrics announced that two of its new Sunbrella Contract fabrics—a filling-face twill and plain-weave canvas—have attained Silver level compliance with the NSF/ANSI 336-2011 Sustainable Assessment for Commercial Furnishings Fabrics. The company is the first to declare compliance under the standard, which was adopted by the Association of Contract Textiles (ACT) in 2011 to provide the industry with a universal measurement and language for sustainability. “Glen Raven was active in the development of the NSF/ANSI 336 standard and has been committed to designing fabrics that would be compliant well before the standard was finalized,” said John...

ATLANTA—Design firm Perkins+Will announced that its Atlanta office earned LEED Platinum with 95 points awarded, the most of any project in the Northern Hemisphere to date under the 2009 version of LEED for New Construction. “Perkins+Will has designed a showpiece building,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “1315 Peachtree Street exemplifies the kind of environmentally sustainable measures that can be taken during a building retrofit. It has earned its high LEED score and will continue to pay dividends through energy saving measures for decades to come.” The office building, originally constructed in...

RAPID CITY, S.D.—The newly branded Rapid City, S.D., Adoba Eco Hotel recently unveiled its exterior signage package. It was designed and fabricated by Lauretano Sign Group, a national provider of eco-savvy signage products. Atmosphere Hospitality Management Services is the owner of the Adoba Eco Hotel brand.As the hotel continues to strive towards LEED certification and reducing its carbon footprint, owner of the property Karim Merali stated, “Joining forces with the Lauretano Sign Group was a great recommendation by the Adoba executives. This sign package was custom-designed for the hotel, constructed with up to 85 percent recycled plastic and finished...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) next update to the LEED green building program, LEED 2012, will include various updates to credits within the LEED Pilot Credit Library. As a flexible, interactive mechanism for testing proposed credits in the marketplace, the Pilot Credit Library gathers real-time feedback on credit usability and ability to meet a credit’s intent.The Pilot Credit Library was established to facilitate the introduction of new prerequisites and credits to LEED through stakeholder engagement and collaboration on the testing and analysis of proposed requirements. This process allows USGBC to refine credits through LEED project evaluations before...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in conjunction with The Home Depot, has launched an online green home products database. The database is a special microsite within homedepot.com that features products geared toward green home building, many of which may contribute towards earning LEED points and prerequisites for the LEED for Homes program, making it easier for homeowners and builders to find the products they need. Currently, more than 2,500 products sold at The Home Depot are listed on the website. “The LEED green building program helps homeowners measure green home performance across a range of categories, and products play...

HOUSTON—When Deer Lake Lodge & Spa opens this summer, guests will stay in 11 rooms, eight of which were once shipping containers. A total of 23 shipping containers are being used at the resort; 15 will comprise the main building area. The shipping containers are just one recycling example found on the 50-acre property located a 40-minute drive from Houston.Developer Tracy Boulware says that given Houston’s port location, shipping containers are easy to find and very inexpensive. “They are sturdy and very unique,” she says. Where needed, spaces have been cut out of the containers. Blue jean and spray...

OAKLAND, CALIF.—Móz Designs expands its Metal Laminates product line with the introduction of a new Neutrals Collection. Featuring subtle shades that offer elegant design solutions, the Móz Neutrals color palette includes tones of champagne, oyster, khaki, clay, graphite, cream and pewter.The Neutrals Collection was created to complement trend-setting designs in hotels and restaurants, spas and lounges, retail centers, healthcare facilities and other public settings where decorative laminates are installed as design elements. The versatile range of applications includes wall coverings, column covers, bar dies, elevator walls and more. They can also be utilized as room dividers or railing infill panels. Stronger...

LAS VEGAS—For its 20th annual trade event, taking place at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas May 15 to 17, Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo) will delve into the topics of sustainable design, social responsibility, and eco-conscious practices in a new initiative called Green Conversations with the Experts, sponsored by NEWH. These half-hour Q&A-style talks will occur at exhibitors’ booths on Tuesday and Wednesday of the show and cover a range of pertinent topics, including raw materials, education, and green design in action. In years past, the Hospitality Design Group has offered a separate...

STAMFORD, CONN.—The Florida sun is shining its light on a new lodging option for travelers, with the opening of Element Miami International Airport. Element , the eco-wise brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., brings a fresh update to the Miami hotel scene with 209 guestrooms and suites built green from the ground up.Element Miami International Airport typifies the “balance” that Starwood’s Element brand offers to business and leisure travelers. The hotel’s strategic location puts it at the doorstep of one of the world’s busiest air-travel hubs—Miami International Airport—and just two blocks from the long anticipated Miami Central...