Paige Emery
Paige’s passion for creativity evolved when she became interested in interior design. She explored many outlets where she could express her creative abilities but she has always been drawn to interior design and decided to pursue it at Humber College. Paige has a deep interest in creating personal experiences and connection to a space through interiors. It is her goal to help protect the environment through sustainable design so that she can practice what she loves in an eco conscious way.
Nova Hotel - A Sustainable Boutique Hotel
Nova Hotel is located at 415 Eastern Avenue, Toronto, known as a lively and vastly growing neighbourhood. The boutique hotel is designed for Marriott and supports environmental sustainability and the needs of millennials. Sustainable design and practices have been researched and implemented throughout the design process and into the hotels every day functionality. The current building on the site is occupied by a furniture showroom and was chosen for this project as its volume, accessibility, and access to natural daylight is optimal for the functionality and operation of this hotel.
Rationale and Design Narrative
As hotels produce large and excessive amounts of waste during both the construction phase and the operational phase, it was important to design and develop a hotel that limits harsh environmental impacts throughout its lifetime. Not only is it a chance to preserve and give back to the environment, it strives to encourage healthy lifestyles and choices for the users within. The hotel will serve to support both the needs of the users and sustainable design by weighing in how they can function and operate together. The reasoning behind the design of this hotel for millennials comes from the research discovered that the generation are found to be more eco-conscious and concerned for the environment in comparison to other generations.
Design Connection to Research
Research was conducted on both millennials as well as sustainable design and practices. It was crucial to intently explore trends in both and discover how they can be integrated together while maintaining functionality. Research found that hotels contribute to large amounts of water usage and waste therefore it was important to integrate water reuse and conservation methods within the design of the hotel. An indoor garden, as the main design feature of the hotel, supports water conservation and reuse, and provides locally sourced produce and herbs. In addition, the hotel is made environmentally sustainable through the choice of materials, water conservation methods, readily available and natural resources, adaptive reuse, and the management of limiting waste and energy consumption.
Character of Space
The intent of Nova Hotel is to connect guests to nature and its surrounding environment. A natural and neutral colour palette help to achieve this by the choice of raw and earthy materials throughout. Sight lines into all four sides of the garden are achieved as the central feature is enclosed by transparent partitions and are surrounded by the hotels social spaces. This connects the users to the space as they are able to see where the fresh food they are consuming is being sustainably produced. During the research and design phase the idea was to limit the amount of construction and building materials, therefore, the layout of the hotel is open or transparent wherever possible. Different spaces are defined by implied boundaries rather than constructed wall partitions. This concept of implied boundaries benefits sustainable design as well as the social and casual life styles of millennials.
Program Consideration
The hotel is composed of areas that support the needs of millennials. It was found in research that the generation is drawn to casual workspaces and cafes. It was important to incorporate a work cafe within the design that was open to both hotel guests and the public where individual work or meetings could be organized. In addition, quality views was an important feature to be included within the design, this being said, the central indoor garden provides views from all four sides and connect guests to the hotel while supporting local produce. Other considerations include a restaurant and bar that also function as an event and gathering space, and a small fitness centre to promote healthy lifestyle choices for the guests. The second floor of the boutique hotel is arranged of ten guest suites, including one accessible suite, as well as views into the atrium and garden below.
