NEWH - Summer 2011 - (Page 8)

sustainability competition sustainable win Meet the newest NEWH honoree By Rachel Long V irginia Tech interior design student Jamie Matthews Ivey created the most sustainable guest experience with her Melange Resort & Spa concept, sited on the island of Mauritius, winning the fifth annual NEWH Sustainable Hospitality Design Competition. Ivey, who holds a bachelor’s in industrial and systems engineering from Virginia Tech, also graduated in May with a bachelor’s in interior design. The competition earned her a $5,000 scholarship sponsored by JLF/lone meadow, and a $5,000 stipend for the interior design program sponsored by Designtex. Her entry was selected by a jury of top hospitality professionals: Richard J. Macri, design director, Gensler; Grace Machado McClurg, designer, WATG; and Adrienne Pumphrey, brand global head, Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites. Dr. Lisa Tucker, an associate professor at Virginia Tech, predetermined the island location and site (an existing resort), as part of a course assignment that took Ivey five weeks to complete as competition-ready. Ivey named her project Melange, meaning medley, after researching the cultural mix of Asian, Indian, African, French Creole, and European influences that make up Mauritius. From there, she took time for sketching and more research with a design goal she termed “modern resort.” Ultimately, it was Ivey’s personal experience, her own recent destination wedding in Hawaii, which inspired her most. At the low-key Maui hotel where she was married, an open-air lobby blended indoors and outdoors—no air conditioning required. It seemed to Ivey the perfect starting point to highlight Mauritius’ tropical location, yet save energy in a luxury resort. Explains Ivey, “I did research Above, from left: A rendering of the spa on high-end luxury resorts, and research on sustainable lobby of the resorts. Sometimes those are conflicting concepts, and winning NEWH don’t go hand in hand.” Sustainable To prove luxury and sustainability can co-exist, Ivey Hospitality Design left nothing to chance. Her comprehensive competition Competition concept Melange entry begins with an overview of fuel-conscious travel to Resort & Spa by the Belle Mare peninsula of Mauritius. It continues in a Jamie Matthews Ivey (pictured right). thorough, 45-page concept overview—from site selection to design intent narrative, green finishes to sustainable sources. For the resort interiors, Ivey’s main graphic element is a hexagonal pattern used in different ways, reminiscent of iconic shapes found in Islamic and Asian architecture but with a fresh twist. “Instead of small scale, I blew it up,” she says. To further emphasize the geometric shape, Ivey kept the overall palette light and neutral, relying on textural elements of smooth and rough stone (including local volcanic rock), wood, and soft, organic fabrics. Her focus, in accordance with competition guidelines, included seven areas. She chose the registration lobby; guest suite bedroom; guest suite bathroom; open breakfast nook; spa lobby; couples’ massage room; and hot and cold thermal pools. Sustainable features are incorporated throughout. The open-air lobby relies heavily on day lighting and requires no HVAC, and fans and vegetative rooftops further aid in climate control and energy savings. More than 100 solar panels harness enough power to heat water for guest baths and spas, and graywater systems re-circulate water for showers, lowflow toilets, and other uses. Recycling is a resort operations mainstay, and, to avoid energy wastefulness, guests insert keycards to activate in-room lighting and power. Guests can contribute to the grid by cycling in the fitness center, where equipment allows users to generate 50 to 100 watts of energy for a 30-minute workout—and enough combined energy to cool the thermal cold pool. Thinking like a local, Ivey took advantage of the indigenous, mahogany-related neem tree throughout the resort: for heavy shade; for its extract, useful to repel pests in an environmentally friendly fashion; and for its oils, perfect for therapeutic spa treatments. Including the LEED CI (commercial interiors) checklist in her entry was a given for Ivey, who earned her LEED AP status in 2009. Notes Ivey, “Now green should just be standard. Our program at Virginia Tech doesn’t even stock fabrics and finishes that are not sustainable. It should just be second nature.” To view Ivey’s complete winning competition entry, visit www.newh.org. 8 summer 2011 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH http://www.newh.org http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - Summer 2011

NEWH - Summer 2011
Contents
News
Who’s Who
Sustainability
Conference: NeoCon
Conference: Regional Tradeshows
Design 101: Hotel Renovation
Have You Seen?
Product Know-How: Flooring
On the Scene
Cover Story: Lexmark Carpet Mills
Project: Hilton Anatole Atrium II
Project: Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
Project: Wyndham Vacation Resorts
Save the Date
New Members
Partner Profiles

NEWH - Summer 2011