Green & Design - May/June 2009 - (Page 28)

hospitality eastern promise China’s first carbon neutral hotel debuts in Shanghai By Jo Baker Photography by Blain Crellin “Everyone points the finger at China when pollution comes up,” says Jules Kwan, co-founder of the country’s newest hotel chain, URBN Hotels & Resorts. “But it’s changing from the top down. I strongly believe that in the next five years every hotel in China could be carbon neutral.” Though a little grandiose perhaps, Kwan’s prediction came the day before the Chinese government announced a coming nationwide ban on non-essential plastic bags; a sentiment that bodes well for the chain’s (and the country’s) first car- bon neutral hotel. Combining cosmopolitan flair with local flavor, URBN Hotels Shanghai was designed to plug the gap between the city’s five-star über-brands and its dowdy business options, and its opening has given travelers the chance to make a small but crucial difference to China’s eco-reputation. Tucked between cheap clothing stores and small two-story houses downtown, the hotel is housed in a converted post office building from the 1970s, laid out around a traditional gray paved courtyard with a bamboo winter garden. 28 www.greenanddesign.com | May/June 2009 http://www.greenanddesign.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green & Design - May/June 2009

Green & Design - May/June 2009
Contents
Editorial
LEED v3: A Highly Evolved Solution
Book Review
Products
Learning Curve
Environmental Trends in Kitchen Design
The Butterfly Effect
Eastern Promise
Social Science
Retail Remedy
They Speak for the Trees
Up to the Challenge
Here Come the Lawyers
Green Gets Political
The Hardest Part of Being Green
Products: Designer’s Picks
Sources and Ad Index

Green & Design - May/June 2009

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