The World’s First LEED Platinum Hotel

Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants & Hotels announced that The Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro have been awarded LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

LEED is the USGBC’s rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and high performing buildings.

The owners of the hotel believe that the costs to build green are minor, do not compromise the guest experience, provide a substantial financial return, and last but not least help the environment.

We at DYAMI are currently involved in many hotel renovation projects where we are working towards LEED certification. We have found that if you properly identify and target key achievable methods, you can “go green” with a minimal additional cost. When considering lifecycle costs, the cost of operating the facility over time, we can actually save our clients money.

Proximity Lobby

Consider the following not so obvious “green” objectives:
Recycle construction debris.
Source materials locally.
Use recycled content.
Restore natural site elements.
Install regenerative drive elevators which generate electricity on descent.
Provide natural daylighting.
Use energy recovery systems.
Source furniture locally.
Commission local artists and craftsmen.

Combine ideas to have fun with Wine!

Hotels Magazine recently featured a new concept that just might establish a trend. With younger clientelle becoming increasingly curious about fine wine, Strategic Hotels and Resorts, Chicago, is currently combining their stagnant tea rooms with a wine tasting experience to generate interest and revenue.

A visitor can sample over 500 varieties of wine, handmade chocolates, cheeses, and of course, tea. This interactive and hip model is expressed through design as a combination of Northern California meets the Far East (see photo).

Classes are offered, educating the consumer about the history of wine, and practical applications such as pairings with cheese and chocolates.

Creative Cue: Are you experiencing a challenge in your business that can be addressed by combining your original concept with a new concept to create a totally different result or experience? As designers, we address issues like this on a daily basis, and have found much success with this technique. Try it!

What is Design. For Life.?

As architects and interior designers we design buildings and spaces for people every day – spaces that affect the quality of life for individuals as well as groups of people. Therefore, it is only natural that our focus be on designing places that positively affect the lives of those that experience our buildings. This is the core of our mission, and can be summed up simply as: Design. For Life.

Design. For Life. encompasses many ideas and related topics that are not limited strictly to the design of buildings. Design affects everything we do from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed. The home we live in, the products we use, the food we eat, the cars we drive, the places we work, the restaurants we eat in, the stores where we shop, and the environments in which we relax were all “designed” by someone. Do they inspire us? Do they comfort us? Are they functional? Are they awful? It is clear that “Design” can bring about either positive or negative experiences and emotions.

Our goal, through the use of our blog, is to provide a look into the creative world of “Design.” and create a resource “For Life.”