Boutique Design - March 2013 - 42

6 At the NoMad hotel in

New York, Stonehill
& Taylor teamed with
Decoration Jacques
Garcia to convert a historic ofﬁce building into
a 168-key hotel that’s
topped by a penthouselevel event space and
garden.

7 The 132,000-sq.-ft.

NoMad project—whose
name is derived from
its home in the Madison
Square North Historic
District—features loftlike guest rooms and
suites with wood ﬂoors,
high ceilings and oversized windows.

6

7

HOSPITALITY SECTOR – AND WHY?

LEED is primarily concerned with the
building structure. So we rely on additional measurements for assessing
performance of our interior design
and the products we specify. Over
the last years, we’ve been challenged
by the plethora of green labeling of
products. Every company puts some
kind of a green product label on their
binders. Unfortunately, because a lot
of these claims are disingenuous, we
have to spend a considerable amount
of time trying to qualify products’ real
sustainability value.
We trust Forest Stewardship
Council certification, Greenguard,
and one or two others. However,
there is a lot of unreliable data out
there. To help address that problem,
MindClick is developing a new
system, the Hospitality Sustain42

boutiquedesign.com MARCH 2013

ability Performance Index, which I
have been involved in reviewing. It’s
a purchasing database that measures
the corporate social responsibility,
environmental sustainability and
product life-cycle performance of
suppliers for the hospitality sector.
This type of broad-base analysis takes
years to compile, but will offer a more
complete picture than approaches
that focus on single issues and individual needs.
YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT
MANY OF THE LEED PROJECTS
YOUR FIRM HAS UNDERTAKEN
HAVE BEEN DONE AT THE BEHEST
OF “MAVERICKS.” WHAT ABOUT
THE BIG HOTEL BRANDS—WHAT
IS THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD

ling what the importance and key
elements of LEED were years ago.
But as an alternative to LEED, most
big brands have since adopted and
vigorously promoted their own
sustainability criteria, which is
commendable. The big chains’ reluctance to adopting LEED is because
there is a real cost burden associated
with it, due to special professional
fees, special systems, extra measures
during construction, and monitoring
and testing that would not normally
be a part of the project. These extra
costs would inevitably hamper brand
growth and become a barrier to
entry. I think each property should
look at its specific circumstances
and resources for creating a unique
sustainability strategy.

SUSTAINABILITY?

They are very interested in sustainability, and they all started tack-

ONE BIG-BRAND PROJECT
THAT STONEHILL & TAYLOR

WORKED ON THAT INVOLVED A
SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY WAS THE
HYATT REGENCY MINNEAPOLIS
RENOVATION. HOW DID YOU GET
THAT PROJECT’S BACKERS TO BUY
INTO THE CREATION OF SO MANY
LOCALLY SOURCED CRAFT PIECES
FOR IT?

Two ways: First, by making it an integral part of the conceptual story of
the hotel from the very beginning.
Second, by aggressively bidding
out all components internationally
to confirm we were not spending
more. We wanted to make sure we
were able to demonstrate that this
approach made sense qualitatively
and quantitatively—and I think we
succeeded on both counts. 
For more from Michael Suomi, go to
boutiquedesign.com

ARI BURLING (6,7)

THINK ARE OF VALUE FOR THE
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