Green Lodging News commends Wen-I Chang and his company, Atman Hospitality Group Inc., for obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, Calif. The property is the first in the United States to reach the LEED Gold level. For those of you not familiar with LEED, certification levels include Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
USGBC established a points-based system for LEED. To obtain Gold, a property must achieve from 39 to 51 points for sustainable steps taken in design and construction. The Gaia’s actual goal was 42 points even though in its application it submitted documentation for 45. It ended up with 43. Points were obtained in areas such as light pollution reduction, storm water management, water use reduction, renewable energy, and energy performance optimization.
William Worthen, who was the LEED consultant on the Gaia project, says the hotel’s achievements are a reflection of developer Wen-I Chang’s commitment to sustainability. Green Lodging News recently spoke with Worthen about the Gaia project and the LEED application process.
Worthen, who is with San Francisco-based Simon & Associates, Inc., joined the project in late 2004. It was at that time that the development team identified the LEED credits to pursue. The team included the developer, architects, builder, designers and the consultant. Along the way, Worthen says it was critical that the team continue to work together and communicate in order to reach its goals.
Attention to Detail
“It was a learning experience for everyone involved,” Worthen says. “The architect’s original design was not changed significantly because of LEED, but we did make some modifications along the way. It took the owner’s commitment to make sure everyone stuck to their goals. The project required frequent analysis to ensure that specifications were met.”
There were times when changes had to be made to materials because they did not meet LEED standards, even though they were sustainable materials. Because construction took longer than expected, it also took longer to generate the necessary documentation for USGBC. Early this year, the Gaia team submitted its documentation for LEED Gold. As is typical in any LEED application, the USGBC asked for additional documentation as part of an audit process. Once that was submitted, six weeks passed before the LEED rating was confirmed. The entire confirmation process took two and one-half months.
USGBC has been criticized recently for not being able to handle the volume of LEED applications quickly. Worthen says, however, that the process was very streamlined, paperless and done online via PDF forms.
“USGBC has tried to make the process user friendly,” he says.
Was the process worthwhile? Most definitely. Worthen says the property is 29 percent more energy efficient than code because of many of the steps taken to meet the LEED Gold standard.
Worthen, who is also working with Wen-I Chang on his other green hotel developments, says interest in green building has exploded in the past six months and that it is almost becoming a competition among builders to be greener than the other. Unfortunately, he says, the lodging industry has not yet caught up with the office building market.
So, what are we all waiting for?
Odds & Ends
Thank you to The Washington Post for quoting me in a June 10 article on green hotels. It is always a good thing to get positive media exposure. I am still waiting for that call from one of the major networks to host my own television show (hint, hint). Until then, I won’t quit my day job.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
