#Hotel Verde - 4F/146 Beds - Airport Precinct | Under Construction

[dysan1]

Originally Posted by briker

CT is the closest international airport to a very wide region- servicing people as far north as Upington. So it is more convenient for those departing flyers who come in from afar to sleep over at the airport. Also businessmen who visit CT for a very short stay. Its basically a short stay sleep over hotel; not for visiting tourists.

Commercial development around the airport is always great. But are there any plans to remove the stinking sewerage plant nearby? I think it's s a big deterrent for fancy developments there.

but when all the city hotels are only 15min away?? Road lodge does well not because of airport traffic but because it is a road lodge and cheap... i bet most of the people staying in the road lodge are not even flying anywhere.

[Lydon]

[KeithQ]

And for a better view... :-)

image hosted on flickr


Okay, the weather was a bit dicey but it's the most current one I've got...

[KeithQ]

• A jogging trail will be set among a fynbos garden for hotel customers.

I'm very interested to know where they are planning on putting that.

[Lydon]

Nice shot! Yeah I've been wondering myself...I wonder what their version of a trail is

[Guyzee]

The new hotel operator will be announced to the media next week. New kid on the block is set to make inroads in the domestic hotel management space. Hotel will be positioned in the three star rate market, will have four star plus fittings and facilities.

[Lydon]

They've appointed a hotel operator - Bon Hotel Management.

[Lydon]

And here's the current progress:

[Andrew_za]

This is proving to be quite a nice addition to the area. Something other than a massive garage.

[KeithQ]

Pics from 30 Sept (yup, it was a weekend!)

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[Lydon]

[Lydon]

Africa’s Greenest Hotel from the ground up
By SA Commercial Prop News


Guy Stehlik of BON Hotels addresses the guests at Hotel Verde Roof Wetting

We have a responsibility as a company, as an employer and as a visitor on this planet to live as sustainably as possible. This is the only way we can survive long-term and hand over to our children in a responsible manner.
Mario and Annemarie Delicio of Dematech are the owners behind Hotel Verde – Africa’s greenest hotel. Dedicated and passionate about sustainability, they have transformed what was initially just a sensible business proposition into a showcase for some of the most advanced environmentally conscious technological installations as well as construction and operation practices in the world.

Construction on Hotel Verde, which is a part of the recently launched BON Hotels group, began over a year ago just outside Cape Town International Airport, with a team of contractors and experts dedicated to finding the alternative. “If you look at what can be done from a green angle you look at energy, water and waste reduction,” Delicio explains. “You then take each of these areas and work out how to implement alternatives, generating your own electricity for example. Then you need to explore the extent to which you can go.”

And the team at Hotel Verde have gone to the greatest extent yet seen on the continent – from locally sourced suppliers to sustainable practices on the building site to multiple ways in which they can generate their own electricity and reduce waste to almost zero.

“We have an advantage because we are starting from scratch. We could go from choosing recycled bricks and insulation, to installing a geothermal field, coupled to ground-source heat pumps. When you build new you can plan much more than if you retrofit an existing building.”

Andre Harms, Sustainability Manager and founder of Ecolution Consulting, is a trained mechanical engineer and the expertise behind some of the more technical aspects of the building. Having spent 15 months at the South African Research Centre in Antarctica, Harms knows what it is to value everyday resources and is applying this dedication to each facet of the project. “We have the opportunity to change the status quo here,” he says. “We have looked at different ways of doing everything, right from the word go.”

This includes the photovoltaic (solar) panels cleverly positioned to provide shade as well as power. “They are mounted on the north façade of the building so as to not only generate electricity but create shading for the windows that get the most sun.”

Another is to dramatically reduce the amount of concrete required by utilising Cobiax void formers – recycled plastic balls placed strategically within the concrete slabs that are required for the various floors. They displace the concrete, saving approximately 535 m3 or 1284 ton while maintaining the structural integrity.

Hotel Verde also boasts a sophisticated grey water recycling plant that will contribute towards a 37% reduction of potable water use.

“We have run a network of pipes through the building in order to reticulate the grey water, collect it and supply it to the toilets,” Harms explains. They will also be utilising a rainwater filtering and capture system to provide water for the car wash and irrigation. The elevators will run on a regenerative drive, which will allow for about 30% of the input energy to be recaptured and fed back into the building, and double-glazed windows with spectrally selective glass will filter out hot rays, so less heat enters the building reducing the need for air-conditioning.

In order to bypass the need for standard air-conditioning systems, traditionally one of the biggest energy consumers, Hotel Verde will utilise ground source heat pumps made by 100 holes drilled about 76 metres into the ground, where the temperature is a consistent 19 degrees Centigrade. Renowned German supplier AGO Energy will install a complex network of piping and equipment specifically designed for Hotel Verde that uses the earth as a heat source in winter and “heat sink” in summer, boosting efficiency and dramatically reducing operational costs.

“There is no other hotel in Africa that has gone to the extent that we are hoping to achieve,” Delicio says. “But going green is not just about the building, it’s about every aspect of the operation; zero waste to landfill for example. We might never reach that, but with the ideas we have in mind we will come pretty close.”

Open to the public in May 2013, the hotel plans to incentivise guests with credit notes and bar tabs for those who utilise towels more than once, for example, or don’t use the air-conditioning. “It’s about getting customers involved and making them a part of the whole green thinking philosophy,” Delicio explains.

Guy Stehlik, founder of BON Hotels, who will manage and operate Hotel Verde, says that the value of being involved in a project of this nature, plus its learning in terms of future hotels, is invaluable. “The three cornerstones of BON Hotels are Good people. Good thinking. Good feeling. Hotel Verde and the philosophy behind it is where the Good thinking lies. This is definitely one of the most innovative hotels in the country and we are thrilled to be involved in a project of this nature.”

Despite the fact that this is the first of its kind, the Hotel Verde team doesn’t want it to be a secret; they want to share their convictions with anyone who’ll listen. “We might have the slogan ‘Africa’s Greenest Hotel’ right now, but we hope it won’t be for long,” says Harms. “We want to show the continent what can be done. We want to challenge the industry as a whole.”

Source: SA Commercial Prop News

[Lydon]

Up it goes

[SA BOY]

hotel is not certified by any rating organization so its claim to be greenest while probably true cannot be proved when another green hotel is built if the new hotel uses a ratings tool such as LEED or BREAM as apposed to GBCSA green star

[Lydon]

Originally Posted by SA BOY

hotel is not certified by any rating organization so its claim to be greenest while probably true cannot be proved when another green hotel is built if the new hotel uses a ratings tool such as LEED or BREAM as apposed to GBCSA green star

If they haven't been certified yet, I'd assume they're in the process of being certified judging by the following:

Offering 145 rooms, conference facilities, restaurant, fitness centre and much more this 3 star hotel is registered with the certification goal of LEED Gold (a stringent programme spearheaded by the US Green Building Council) and is earmarked for completion in May 2013.

[SA BOY]

interesting as there is an agreement at world green building council level that LEED wont certify in Green star territory and visa versa.Lets see what happens in May as I would imagine it could get LED designed but not as built, that way LEED acknowledges the building is proposed to be green but they don't issue the certification.

[Mark Schonrock]

Originally Posted by SA BOY

interesting as there is an agreement at world green building council level that LEED wont certify in Green star territory and visa versa.Lets see what happens in May as I would imagine it could get LED designed but not as built, that way LEED acknowledges the building is proposed to be green but they don't issue the certification.

That's interesting, beause this project was always going for the LEED Green Start certification from day one and not our Local GBCSA route which in interesting?? I wonder why, cheaper to register with them or what?!!?

[Lydon]

LEED is a stricter rating system than our local Green Star system, correct?

[Mark Schonrock]

Originally Posted by Lydon

LEED is a stricter rating system than our local Green Star system, correct?

Yeah it is, as far as I know!! Harder than 4 Star Green Star but not sure about 5 & 6 Stars?

Still need to look into it, waiting to see if another project goes ahead using this system of rating to see if it's worth learning about!!!

[SA BOY]

Originally Posted by Lydon

LEED is a stricter rating system than our local Green Star system, correct?

Nope , GBCSA and the green star system doesn't not have a hotel rating tool. LEED does.

LEED is not harder or easier than Green star , its just different and focuses on different areas of sustainability where Green star is primarily focussed on reduction of consumption but LEED looks at things like local sourcing and more focus on public transport as its designed around a North American context that has these sorts of things.

Ive done both building systems (LEED for nearly 8 years) and prefer Green star. Doing 5 Green star projects now including SA's first Industrial green building