WITH hotel developments increasingly having to adhere to new ‘green’ build techniques and practices and sustainability a growing concern worldwide, this year’s Hotel Show in Dubai will see a number of features and initiatives focused on the issue.
Partnering with the Italian architecture studio WT Project, The Hotel Show will introduce the ‘Future Hotel’ – sustainable design feature. Located in Hall 8, ‘Future Hotel’ will showcase internationally renowned brands, their products, design concepts and future trend predictions for building design. Creations and videos with innovative solutions that demonstrate the application of latest technologies applied to architecture such as, climate protection solutions including ventilated facades articulated according to building orientation, surfaces that integrate various regenerative energy production methods, geothermic systems, photovoltaic and photo-catalytic materials.Chiara Cantono, director of WT Project Studio, says: “Sustainability projects are not just a passing trend but they represent a real opportunity to improve building performance and quality of life of the local residents. Materials and technologies of latest generation are intelligent, interactive and above all are low environmental impact materials paired to organic forms and natural iconography of the vegetable world.”Taking inspiration from the structure and functioning of cactus plants, the OASI Skyscraper is one of several new sustainable architectural design concepts that WT Project will present at the Hotel Show.OASI’s most important property is its capability to collect rainwater. Both the façade and the surrounding structure feature organic shaped niches that help collect the rainwater to the bottom of the building where they are stored, purified and distributed for re-use.“The materials used are thought to produce the lowest environmental impact and are fully energy efficient” says Cantono. “Additional features include natural ventilation for self-cleaning windows, a photo-catalytic façade to purify the air and a building shell treated with photovoltaic paint to provide energy. The future is in need of self-efficient energy solutions and at OASI, we are now able to demonstrate that it is possible to use almost everything you take from nature and turn it into another source.”