With the confirmation of a Five Green Star Design rating from the New Zealand building council, The Hotel Britomart is set to be New Zealand's most eco-friendly hotel, setting a new standard for one of Auckland's liveliest precincts.
Opening mid-2020, the hotel reached a construction milestone last week with the fitting of the last of 180 exterior panels. Work will now commence on the interior fit-out, designed by Cheshire Architects.
The hotel's 99 guest rooms will feature timber-lined walls, tiled bathrooms, and handmade ceramics, as well as air-conditioning and room control technology.
Hotel Britomart development director Campbell Williamson on-site.
Five 'Landing Suites', named after the 1,000-acre luxury Bay of Islands owned by the same company behind Hotel Britomart, Cooper & Company, will showcase hand-crafted furniture in spacious living and dining areas. Three rooftop suites will feature planted roof terraces, whilst two more will be constructed in glassy pavilions on the roof of the adjacent heritage Buckland Building.
The Hotel Britomart will be New Zealand's first Five Green Star-rated hotel. In order to acquire the Green Star rating, a building must achieve a certain number of points from a set of criteria that relate to sustainable building and management techniques.
The highest rating possible is six stars, achieved by only a handful of projects. In order to reach five stars, everything from the commissioning process to the materials used must meet strict environmental standards.
The hotel's compact rooms help lower its environmental impact, without skimping on luxury.
The Hotel Britomart, for instance, uses double glazing throughout to provide excellent insulation, and utilises water, energy, and waste management systems. Facilities such as bicycle parking to encourage green transport choices are also included, and even the hotel's location in the CBD, with easy access to public transport, is factored into the rating.
Much like its trendy waterfront precinct, the hotel is designed with the modern consumer in mind. With sustainability at the forefront of many travellers' minds, it's important to be developing enticing accommodation options which make explicit their sustainability goals.
