Boutique Design - July/August 2011 - 27

ForrestPerkins’ eco-friendly design of the renovated Carmel Valley Ranch in California includes the use of low-VOC paints and furnishings that incorporate reused wood and metal.

BD: What are the special challenges associated with instilling green principles in a boutique project, which tend to be more custom in nature than those of the big brands? Tuttle: One of the more interesting conver-

Cliff Tuttle’s Dream Green Hotel
• A sustainable design and operational philosophy that provides a healthy environment, without compromising the luxury experience. • A thoughtful design that re ects a unique sense of community. • A luxury experience that’s also casual and relevant, with places that blur work and play. • Places to socialize and places for respite and re ection. • Spacious guest rooms with good light and ample work space. • Meeting spaces with lots of natural daylight. • Outdoor spaces for fresh air. • A good restaurant with farm-to-table organic food. • An awesome operations team that caters to the guest’s every need.

Courtesy of ForrestPerkins (JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, Carmel Valley Ranch, the Nines hotel); Courtesy of Marriott International (Renaissance Arlington Capital View); Holly Stewart Photography (Cliff Tuttle)

sations I had in developing the LEED for Lodging standards centered on the fact that few people realize that everything in a hotel guest room is custom in nature. Still, there’s no doubt that designers of boutique projects deal with very high levels of custom detail, some of which can be dif cult to nd in an eco-friendly form. The bathroom, for example, is one of the biggest “wow” factors in creating a desired destination, and often guests have an expectation of rain shower heads or multiple shower heads. Unfortunately, I’ve not found either of these types of xtures in high-performance versions, so it’s a matter of the design team working with the manufacturers to press for the development of these products.
BD: Do boutique projects offer any special advantages in going green that their big-brand brethren lack?

tunity to be creative, using unexpected sustainable materials and working with local sources to infuse a sense of community. Beyond that, boutique hotels may be better positioned to market themselves as being green to capture the growing market sector that expects it.
BD: Where have the biggest strides been made in the creation of eco-friendly products and technologies for hotels and other hospitality settings?

hotel’s energy consumption, which can consume from 4 to 7 percent of a property’s revenue. To cut energy usage in guest rooms, we encourage the use of occupancy sensors and programmable digital thermostats, as well as the use of more economical CFL bulbs for lamping. LED lighting is becoming an exciting alternative to CFL bulbs because it’s coming down in price and the color temperature keeps getting better.
Is progress also being made on the other factors you cited?

Being smaller in nature, boutique hotels give designers the chance to develop the unexpected. Because boutique hotels often don’t have to follow predetermined brand standards—which may or may not be eco-friendly—designers have the oppor-

These days, every project involves conserving energy, cutting waste, reducing the use of toxic chemicals and recycling building and nishing materials. Thus far, the largest impact has involved things that reduce a

Yes. When it comes to water usage, the typical hotel uses 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room. Water-ef cient

Boutique Design | July+August 2011

Boutique Design - July/August 2011

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