WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced the opening of its first Element hotel in New Jersey and the seventh Element hotel globally, Element Ewing-Hopewell in Ewing, N.J., just 10 minutes outside Princeton. The hotel is owned through a joint venture between American Properties Realty, Inc. and Hersha Hospitality Management, L.P., which is also the manager of the hotel. Element, Starwood’s green trailblazer, made history when it launched as the only major hotel brand to mandate that its properties pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for high-performance buildings. With 127...

GRAND ISLAND, N.Y.—Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics (SGTF), a global leader in the manufacture of glass textile wallcoverings as well as a broad line of reinforcement materials for exterior and interior residential and commercial construction, announced that Roos International is now the exclusive distributor of SGTF’s Novelio Paintable Wallcovering in the United States and Canada. Novelio products are easy-to-apply and ready-to-paint professional wallcoverings. Novelio is very durable and provides additional benefits by being mold-resistant, hygienic and fire-proof. The Novelio collection of wallcoverings is available in a large variety of standard and custom designs. Roos International is one of the original pioneers...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Market will be emphasizing sustainability more than ever as World Market Center Las Vegas announced a major effort to forward green initiatives beginning with the 2010 Winter Las Vegas Market, February 1 to 5, 2010. The introduction of “One Good World,” a sweeping new program that already encompasses the many eco-friendly practices at World Market Center’s trade complex, will further equip retailers with the insights, information and strategies needed to respond to the rising consumer demand for sustainable furnishings—and reduce one’s own carbon footprint in the process. The effort includes a new sustainable products locator program, showcased...

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA—The new 300-room, five-star-rated Sheraton Incheon Hotel recently opened in New Songdo City, Korea, offering a new state-of-the-art facility in the heart of a new urban center. HOK provided architectural design, landscape design and sustainable design services for the new 500,000-square-foot, LEED® certified hotel. Adjacent to the city’s new convention center, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower and a large retail mall, the hotel is connected to the buildings through a series of plazas and landscaped areas, and underground by a parking structure spanning the site. The tower section of the hotel includes 300 guestrooms and suites, a...

KOLKATA, INDIA—ITC’s new luxury hotel in Bengaluru, the ITC Hotel Royal Gardenia, was conferred the highest rating for green buildings in the world—the LEED India Platinum Rating. This recognition makes it the world’s largest platinum rated hotel and is another manifestation of ITC’s leadership in sustainability practices. ITC is the only company in the world to be carbon positive, water positive and solid waste recycling positive. The LEED Platinum rating for the ITC Hotel is one more green milestone for ITC. It is close on the heels of the ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon—one of the world’s largest green buildings....

CLEVELAND, OHIO—The award–winning Environmental Information Center (EIC) website from GE Consumer & Industrial now offers visitors, hungry for knowledge about the U.S. Green Building Council‘s LEED certified building program, direction about how lighting and electrical products can account for more than 30 percent of LEED certification points. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. “The lighting and electrical products now listed on the EIC possess inherent LEED certification value,” says Heather Wilson Coode, marketing manager, GE Consumer & Industrial. “Notably, we added new environmentally relevant electrical products to help us lead the charge in environmental excellence. The...

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.—Sterling Sleep Systems’ modular mattress system will be part of the winning Sustainable Suite that will be on display at Hospitality Design Expo 2010. The mattress system was included in the winning Sustainable Suite Design Competition entry by WATG, a destination design firm. WATG led the creative design and specification process, in conjunction with IDEO, an innovation and design firm which brought expertise on human-centered sustainability. The U.S. Green Building Council, in conjunction with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and NEWH, organized the Sustainable Suite Design Competition—a competition for interior designers to showcase the best hospitality...

RALEIGH, N.C.—In October, the Raleigh Convention Center joined an elite group of convention centers—those that have earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. In Raleigh’s case, it earned LEED Silver, joining the Phoenix Convention Center, Spokane (Wash.) Convention Center Expansion, and the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore., as LEED Silver recipients. The Raleigh facility earned the LEED designation a little more than a year after the center opened in September 2008. The Raleigh Convention Center is owned and managed by the City of Raleigh. According to Laurie Okun, director of...

LAS VEGAS—Under a canopy of fireworks illuminating the night sky, ARIA Resort & Casino opened its doors last week and welcomed its first guests. Located at the heart of CityCenter, ARIA is the centerpiece of the urban resort destination. Its debut signifies the official grand opening of this city-within-a-city, following two weeks of celebrations for the reveals of Vdara Hotel & Spa, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Crystals retail and entertainment district. Featuring a combination of striking architecture, sustainable design, high-end service and amenities, the ARIA has dramatically altered the skyline of the world’s most famous boulevard. “ARIA and CityCenter...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Valley Forge Fabrics was presented with a Merit Award from Interior Design Magazine for being a finalist in the 2009 Best of Year Awards. The finalists and winners were announced on December 3 during a celebration at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In the Best of Year Product category, Valley Forge was applauded for the Volumes of Velvet pattern Nixon. This was designed exclusively for Valley Forge by Jonathan Adler. Best of Year Product Design honorees were selected by interior designers and architects via an online vote October 5 to 11, and winners were...