The Greenest Hotel Room

So you think you can design the greenest hotel room? Put your talents to the test and enter the Sustainable Suite Design Competition, co-sponsored by USGBC, ASID, and NEWH.

These three dynamic organizations have created a competition that challenges students and professionals to submit their design concepts for the greenest hotel room. The best design will be built to life size, unveiled at HD Expo in May 2010 and promoted as the model for sustainable hotel design to professionals and general consumers. Additionally the winning team and design will be profiled in Hospitality Design, ASID ICON, and the NEWH Magazine.

The reasoning behind the competition begins with the belief that the hospitality industry has incredible potential to showcase the beauty and benefits of sustainable design to a wide range of people. Design decisions made by the hotel industry inspire and inform consumer choices, and if done right can educate guests on the benefits of how and why they should live green.

From towel and sheet reuse programs to key card energy control systems that can reduce a hotel’s energy use 20 percent or more, there are multiple, proven strategies that can have significant environmental impact. Hopefully this competition will unearth others that will find their way into standard practice.

Entries are due by August 31, 2009, and judging will be completed by October 1, 2009. The winning design team must commit to producing construction documents within six-weeks of award notification for model room fabrication. Download the application, check out the FAQs and get going. An industry is waiting.