BDP ontwerpt het meest duurzame hotel van Ierland
Het onlangs geopende Wren Urban Nest, is het eerste hotel in Ierland dat voldoet aan de definitie “CO2 neutraal in gebruik” van de World Green Building Council, en is een van de meest duurzame binnenstedelijke hotels van Europa.
The recently opened Wren Urban Nest is the first hotel in Ireland to meet the World Green Building Council's definition of "CO2 neutral in use" without purchasing carbon offsets. Every aspect of the nine-storey hotel has been designed with a view to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Together with the fact that 100% of the energy demand is met from renewable sources, this makes the hotel one of the most sustainable inner-city hotels in Europe. In response to a shortage of hotel rooms, the Wren Urban Nest offers 137 hotel rooms and a modern café-restaurant in a cramped location in the centre of Dublin.
The assignment was to design a sustainable hotel, without making concessions to the quality of use and "leisure experience" of the hotel guests. Together with the ambitious client, BDP's interdisciplinary design team created this hip city hotel with a focus on compact luxury and sustainable efficiency. With this unique combination of design and sustainability, BDP is taking the lead in the innovation of international hospitality.
The hotel rooms are designed as compact high-tech units that are fully equipped. All furnishings, such as a minibar, TV, coffee machine and kettle, have been designed together with a fold-out desk and cupboard space in one integral piece of furniture. This allowed the available space to be used optimally and electricity facilities and connections could be hidden out of sight. In the design, passive measures have been used as much as possible to limit the energy demand. In combination with an intelligent and adaptive climate control system that can quickly anticipate use, this creates a system in which the heating of the building is not cooled away, but is used to heat the rooms. In the summer, this heat is stored so that it can be used again in the colder seasons. In this way, 80% of the hotel's energy demand can be met for building-related and user installations.
To limit the energy demand, the hotel rooms are equipped with an Advanced Bedroom Control System that automatically switches off non-essential functions if the room is not occupied. This system also automatically lowers the room temperature at night and when the room is unoccupied. Together with a pre-programmed series of (dimmable) lighting scenarios, this greatly reduces energy consumption. The semi-sunken restaurant ALT is located in the plinth of the building. Due to the hotel's central location, the restaurant is a popular spot for Dubliners. ALT's kitchen – which is gas-free and designed with energy-efficient technology – serves organic, seasonal products from local suppliers. For hotel guests, the restaurant is an extension of the compact hotel room with relaxed lounge areas and sitting areas. In this way, ALT is a meeting place for hotel guests and visitors.