Travel better | A concrete green hotel

It’s a slightly crazy project: transforming an old concrete building of brutalist architecture, built in 1970 in northern New York, into a net zero hotel, which therefore produces all the energy it needs. The imminent opening of the Hotel Marcel is turning heads as the tourism industry also seeks to decarbonise…

Simon Chabot
The Press

Despite its status as an outstanding example of modern architecture, the Pirelli Building in New Haven, Connecticut sat vacant for more than 20 years. Designed by renowned architect Marcel Breuer, it was even partially demolished in 2003 to make way for the parking lot of the neighboring IKEA store. But it is about to finally come back to life, transformed into a 165-room hotel. And if the building is over 50 years old, there is nothing retrograde about it. On the contrary. Powered exclusively by solar panels, it will house one of the greenest hotels in the United States.

The innovative project, described by its architects as a “utopian feat of sustainable engineering”, has aroused the interest of many American media who have devoted reports to it.

The Becker + Becker firm, which renovated the building with floors that seem to be suspended in the void, left nothing to chance in order to obtain prestigious sustainable building certifications (LEED Platinum and Passive House). In addition to using recycled materials, she waterproofed the building envelope and installed a lighting system that works with light-emitting lamps (LED). Result: the Marcel Hotel will consume 80% less energy than the average American hotel.

However, on the comfort side, customers will see nothing but fire, we promise. Except in the kitchens of the restaurant, where everything will be prepared, again, with electrical equipment – ​​without flame, therefore.

The first images of the rooms, rented from US$229 a night, are inviting. The decor by Dutch East Design is quite sober, but chic, in caramel tones, with wooden panels here and there. Throughout the hotel, certain elements take up motifs and shapes inspired by the Bauhaus, an artistic movement born in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century.^and century in the school of the same name, which Marcel Breuer attended.

A heavy footprint

Accommodation is responsible for around 21% of greenhouse gas emissions from the tourism industry, according to a study partly funded by the United Nations in 2008. This is much less than transport (75%), but in 2019, these emissions nevertheless represented the equivalent of 324 million tonnes of CO₂. Faced with the climate emergency, it is “of the utmost importance to decarbonize the sector as quickly as possible”, pleads the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Travelers also seem impatient to see other projects like the Marcel. In a survey last year by reservation system Booking.com of 29,000 travelers from 30 countries, 72% of respondents wanted the industry to provide them with more options for more sustainable travel.

In Quebec, a survey by the Transat Tourism Chair also concluded in December 2021 that two-thirds of travelers would like to travel the world more responsibly. Half of the 1,206 respondents said they were even willing to change their habits to reduce their carbon footprint, but barely a quarter were willing to pay more to achieve this.

Marie Pier Germain, vice-president, sales and marketing, at Germain Hotels, which has establishments across the country, makes much the same observation.

Nevertheless, the issue concerns the Quebec hotel group, which has notably invested large sums in geothermal heating systems since 2007, for example at the Alt and Escad hotels in Quartier DIX30. “Digging is really expensive, but the returns on the investment have been better than expected,” says M.^me Germain.

Concrete from here

A bit like what was done in Connecticut, Germain Hôtels also renovated a concrete building from top to bottom. Located on Mansfield Street, downtown, the building built in 1967 has housed Le Germain Montréal since 1999. “I had a blast,” says the vice-president about this 30 million project.

The Montreal hotel is not net zero, but renovating the building, rather than demolishing it to start fresh, is in itself a green gesture. And a colossal challenge. Low ceilings, load-bearing façade, unchanging columns: those responsible for the project “sought to create opportunities for interesting design”, says Marie Pier Germain. “The lobby in Montreal is very small, with very low ceilings. We used this aspect to make a very warm, cozy space. We also took the shape of the beams to make showers that recall the storefront. We have fun with that too. »

A colorful mural has also concealed the repairs carried out on the concrete of the facade. Because its structure allowed it, Le Germain Montréal has four more floors, placed on the roof. The expansion added 35 rooms to the establishment (for a total of 136), a way to make the investment profitable.

However, the work ended just a few months before the pandemic… which limited the innovation capabilities of its owners. “But we are not going to sit on our successes. We can always improve, thanks to technologies, new ideas, within the limits imposed by our guests, remarks Mr.^me Germain. For example, not everyone accepts that towels are not changed every day. For greener hotels, customers also have a long way to go…