Chicago's Hotel Felix, formerly known as Wacker Hotel, re-opened its doors in April 2009. Felix is a 225-room, boutique hotel that's been designed (not yet certified) to receive LEED Silver certification. The lodging also received four out of five Green Eco-Leafs, which indicates that the hotel has been audited and complies with 38 (of 70) unique eco-initiatives. Some of these green features and initiatives include the following:
I just love this grain silo home — it's a fantastic example of adaptive reuse. In 2007, Gruene Homestead Inn purchased the 1940s grain silo and remodeled the interior and exterior. The result is authentic and incredible. Can you imagine chilling on that front porch, enjoying a little Texas summer? The Silo includes one bedroom and one bathroom in a loft-type setup for the rental price of $175/$210 a night.
With all the LEED certified buildings in the world, hotels still comprise only a small portion of the total. Hotel Arista, for instance, is seeking the first LEED certification for a hotel in Illinois. Designed by Lohan Anderson, this 144,000 square foot building is part of the CityGate Centre lifestyle development in Naperville, which also is undergoing LEED certification. The 144 room hotel features luxury amenities wrapped up in the style of classic modernism and some of the following green features:
This is the first citizenM hotel near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Designed by Dutch design firm Concrete Architectural Associates, the hotel is made with prefabricated pods (or rooms) built in citizenM's own production facility. The rooms have been prefabricated not only to reduce construction waste and save time, but they're also built this way to provide a consistent room experience to guests. So when guests walk into a room, not only do they get a tightly designed and constructed space, but they get one that's full of geeky tech.
With an idea like this, you're going to win some prizes. Morris Architects took home first prize, as well as $10,000, in the second annual Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards, which was sponsored by the John Hardy Group and Hospitality Design magazine. Some of the other entries were also unique, but this Oil Rig Hotel and Spa is particularly innovative. To understand the innovation behind the adaptive reuse, a background understanding of oil rigs is necessary.
Project Profiles
