Photo: Premier Inn New Marlborough Yard, opened 2020, BREEAM Excellent © Studio Moren
Hospitality design specialist Studio Moren has announced a strategic partnership with the Energy and Environment Alliance (EEA) – an international not-for-profit coalition driving the decarbonisation of the hospitality industry – to provide expertise on sustainable architecture and interior design practices across the sector.
The EEA’s mission is to develop the first universal sustainability standard for the hospitality industry, including the design, build and operation of buildings. Studio Moren, working in collaboration with EEA and its other partners, will utilise its substantial knowledge and experience designing effective and energy-efficient hotel and hospitality projects to help steer the ongoing development of the new BREEAM in Use Hospitality (BiUH) standard.
Studio Moren Senior Designer and Certified Passive House Designer, Bryan Oknyansky, AIA, will sit on the EEA Technical Committee to work with the EAA and BRE Group in the development of hospitality-specific standards, metrics and methodologies, embracing all lifecycle stages of hotel or apart-hotel development, including design, construction and operations to redevelopment or decommissioning.
As a world-renowned hotel and hospitality architect and interior designer, Studio Moren has a long-term commitment to both sustainability and the hospitality industry and shares EEA’s mission to improve sustainable outcomes in the sector. Whilst it is well understood that hospitality operations require a considerable amount of energy to ensure the comfort of guests and offer individualised experiences and services, in addition to generating a considerable amount of waste from consumables, Studio Moren believes a lot can be done to decarbonise the hospitality sector to enable sustainable growth.
Bryan Oknyansky said: “According to U.N data, the built environment is currently responsible for about 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions. As architects and designers, we have a key role to play in driving a reduction in carbon emissions, as the greatest opportunity for impact on building performance and energy efficiency comes at the design stage.
“Measures being more widely adopted by the hospitality industry include designing out the excess energy demands of operating buildings and recovering heat from both plant equipment and wastewater for reuse elsewhere in building services. Additionally, exploiting opportunities for circularity will lead to the use of materials and products that have lower embodied carbon through sourcing locally, recycling and reuse. We look forward to working collaboratively with the EEA and its partners to further increase the uptake of such measures, whilst also helping asset owners and managers in the hospitality industry mitigate climate risk and meet net zero targets.”
Ufi Ibrahim, CEO & Founder, the Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA), said: “Studio Moren stands out as a hospitality focused architectural and design practice that puts sustainability at the heart of its creative philosophy. We are therefore delighted to have its input into our Technical Committee, helping to determine the most relevant and useful standards and metrics for ESG in the industry.”
