A Blueprint for Sustainable Design

A Blueprint for Sustainable Design PART 1

Sustainable design is the ultimate act of function matching form to maximise positive impact, says Juliet Kinsman. It’s not a new concept, and it’s not just a trend. Good design means being more sustainable.

Sustainability is more than a buzzword; back-of-house activity has increasingly become as important to guests as the comforts and facilities facing them. No longer do sleek fixtures impress this hotel reviewer – what gives me a thrill is peeking behind the curtain to discover a hotel’s reduced solid waste being delivered to landfill thanks to anaerobic digestion.

The organic food-waste tanks at Treehouse London and Paramount Sydney are particularly impressive. Ditto the new glass-crushing machine at Middleton Lodge in Yorkshire, and the bio-mass system at Heckfield Place in Hampshire. Rather than spilling over with disposable amenities, hotels – both chains and independents – with dazzling performance indicators and ambitious energy-reduction targets are more and more the crowd-pleasers.

As the adage goes, the true function of design is letting design function. The hallmark of sustainable design is that it lets a hotel exist in harmony with nature, minimises negative impact on place, and promotes the health and comfort of people, all the while optimising a building’s performance and durability.

Harlem Brundtland’s 1987 definition of sustainability set a benchmark: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Thanks to the United Nations declaring its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, corporations and consumers alike were given clear calls to action in 2012. As such, any hotel or hospitality business that tunes into these goals – from ending hunger and poverty to improving education, promoting equality and preserving oceans and forests – is by its very nature more sustainable.

The thing is, the topic of sustainability is complicated. Being green refers to impact in the short term, the long term, on a micro level and a macro one, as well as considering the consumption of natural resources at every turn. Which is why it’s important for luxury hotels to decide what they want to stand for, and how to stand out for it. When the construction, furnishing and management of sustainable hotels works to minimise the use of non-renewable resources, or allows for low-energy low-waste operations, and considers the seven rules of sustainability – refuse, reduce, repurpose, repair, return, refill – at every decision-making crossroads, it’s onto a winner.

A GREEN BILL OF HEALTH Depending on the location and the scale of a hotel, it’s certainly easier in the design of a newbuild to be more considerate of people, place and planet when starting out with a blank canvas. But often the perception of owners and

developers is that implementing sustainability will be more costly. It certainly can be in the short term, but investing in intelligent design that allows more efficiency when it comes to energy consumption, and sensitivity in the sense of how humans as workers and guests are hosted, is paramount too.

Minimising negative impact on nature is another great starting point. And who better to reflect on this than Bill Bensley, a designer that began his career as a landscape gardener? The Bangkok- and Bali-based visionary believes that unless sustainable principles are integrated into hotel standards, we are neglecting an immense opportunity to change the fate of the environment and humanity. His studio has just published a white paper, Sensible Sustainable Suggestions, which presents two aspects as to why this matters. “One is the environmental impact a building has, in terms of financial benefits and prevention of pollution,” he explains. “The other angle is that if we build our hotels with a bit more foresight, and try and consider the communities in which we build, we really can change so many lives.”

Bensley acknowledges that there is a predisposal to think that building green is innately more expensive than a standard build – but this is not always the case, as, since the first green buildings that created those ideas were made, the technology has evolved. “There is a lack of knowledge and understanding as to the repercussions in terms of climate change and damage to the earth, that building unsustainably does,” he adds. “Since the construction sector contributes 23% of air pollution, 50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill waste – it’s time we start thinking of ways to chop that down, from the onset.”

He pushes for the use of recyclable building materials and insulation whilst phasing out concrete – it’s the second most widely used material in the world, and is surpassed only by the US and China in its carbon dioxide emissions.

CHANGE IS SLOW Soneva is a brand that was formed with sustainability front of mind. Sonu and Eva Shivdasani wrote new rules for luxury hospitality when they created Soneva Fushi in 1995, launching the term ‘intelligent luxury’.

Inspired by this forward-thinking paradise resort’s success, they created a management model in the form of Six Senses, now being rolled out globally by IHG. At its core was their SLOWLIFE philosophy – an ethos that endures at Soneva, standing for Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wellness and Learning, Inspiring, Fun, Experiences. Those seeking a deeper

Sustainability Speak

CARBON EMISSIONS Referring to the release of greenhouse gases (the GHGs adding to the planetwarming atmosphere), making up a hotel’s footprint as tonnes of carbon dioxide. Low-carbon and offsetting claims are excellent – but it’s important to focus on reduction of overall emissions too.

CONCRETE Production of the traditional Portland version is made of pulverised limestone heated to high temperatures using coal, which means it is responsible for around 8% of all global CO2 emissions. R&D is now exploring how the material could be made using solar energy, converted into more sustainable mixtures and aggregates, or augmented with captured ocean plastics.

CRADLE-TO-CRADLE This design concept was introduced by Dr Michael Braungart and William A. McDonough in the 1990s. Inspired by nature, it celebrates products created according to the principles of a circular economy, giving a certified mark to stand for innovation, quality and good design. It describes the safe and potentially infinite use of materials in cycles.

GREENWASHING When hotels are loud about the good they do to distract us from less sustainable qualities.

ZERO-ENERGY A Net-Zero hotel is when the building and operation uses no more energy than it sources from renewable means (solar, wind, water). Valsana, part of Swiss luxury hotel group Tschuggen, declares itself carbon neutral thanks to its innovative stored-energy ice-battery. Stoke by Nayland Hotel in Suffolk runs on a bio-gas plant fed with by-products from their sister fruit-growing farm, giving surplus energy back to the grid.

understanding of just how hard the brand works to be sustainable should search out its Total Impact Assessment (TIA) reports. For this, they measure all three scopes of carbon. Their return on investment — whether in solar energy, human resources, community partnerships, global symposiums or carbon offsets — is closely analysed to ensure that performance improves year-on-year.

Their TIA takes into account the total impact of every aspect of their resorts in the Maldives and Thailand, right down to that of its supply chain. “One of my beliefs is that companies must have a purpose beyond making shareholders richer, and when you can do that it’s very engaging and fulfilling for the team. In hospitality it’s not how big the villas are, or the quality of the food and drink, or even the spa,” says Shivdasani. “It’s a magical service – which can only be trained to an extent.” Part of the soul comes from a commitment to the local community. Soneva doesn’t only invest in its properties, but has worked hard to raise awareness concerning the negative impact of open burned waste throughout the archipelago, which presents an environmental hazard and damages tourism. The Namoona Baa Initiative to counter these effects includes the first EcoCentro Complex on the island of Maalhos, which they have developed as a means to alchemise metals, bottles and coconut husks into items of economic value, such as eco-friendly building materials or compost.

Let’s delight in a bandwagon now heaving as the travel industry wakes up to stats that decree tomorrow’s customers seek more sustainable hotels. Along with clients being more aware however, they’re also scrutinising hotels’ claims more deeply than ever. The industry needs to think of this as a new way of being as opposed to a trend. When Katamama opened in 2015, it showcased an innovative means of preserving the past, and its celebration with local artisans was a great act of cultural conservation. For its new mega-project Desa Potato Head, the Indonesian hosts have gone one step further by using recycled plastics and planet-friendly materials conceptualised by celebrated British designers Max Lamb and Faye Toogood, and brought to life by Balinese artisans using indigenous materials and techniques.

Focused on community and inclusivity, Potato Head is using creativity as a medium for encouraging positive change in the world. Operating under the motto of Good Times, Do Good, this philosophy is implemented not only in the physical spaces, but throughout the entire guest experience. Anyone checking into Potato Head Studios or Katamama will receive a zerowaste kit, which includes a water bottle, RPET tote bag, bamboo straws and other essentials, as well as refillable amenities like sunscreen, after-sun care and insect repellent.

Sustainability is certainly boosted by an extra-active upcycling imagination – think flooring fashioned from crushed glass in Katamama’s dramatic blue terrazzo surfaces, and an abundance of reclaimed timber.

In an increasingly digital age, we crave and prize craftsmanship and organic elements more than ever. UK-based Bert & May’s weathered handmade encaustic tiles speak to the senses in a much-needed human way. Pondering the longterm benefits of each purchasing decision sees a movement away from fast-fashion fixtures, and towards investment in form-meets-function fittings and a re-tuning into nature.

Maximising natural lighting is as key as using LEDs: glass ceilings, skylights and sun tunnels reduce our reliance on artificial bulbs. Building-management systems plumbed into our smartphones will let us track every aspect of our fuel consumption and the provenance of our utilities.

TRANSPARENCY AND TRACKING What we need next is a Fitbit-style carbonfootprint analytics app to conflate our data on one dashboard to incentivise and reward greener living. Considerate Group offers the Con-Serve data management system – enabled by a dynamic technology platform that has been tailored to capture data material for the hospitality industry – with Fluttr, a mobile app designed specifically to streamline energy management for SME hospitality businesses.

The talk around sustainability can be a mindboggling contrast of experts advocating a return to lifestyles of the past, and those stressing a need to look to the future and innovate. It is, in fact, both. As a sustainability consultant, I would urge everyone to explore solutions more closely aligned with natural systems (permaculture being the poster child for that) as well as being alert to high-tech inventions, and technology that help to minimise impact – environmentally and socially. Not because it’s fashionable, or often more efficient, or even to future-proof a business’ reputation, but because it is the only way we will survive.

The Meaning of Sustainable Design

• Provenance and ethics of supply chains are considered

• Renewable energy and minimal waste is prioritised

• Water is protected and conserved

• Operational functions optimised

• Efficiency is measurable and can be tracked

• Closed-loop practices and the pursuit of circular economies acknowledged

• Environment enhanced – internally and externally

• Follows the UN’ s 17 Sustainable

Development Goals

Juliet Kinsman is a sustainability editor and founder of Bouteco, a consultancy that helps boutique hotels make positive change in their communities. www.bouteco.co

Le Méridien Lav, Split, Croatia, furnished by SNS Group.