Spa Canada Magazine
Building it Green From the Ground Up!
Building it Green From the Ground Up! - Canada’s Greenest Resort LEEDs the Way in Sustainable Stays
A new wave of resort developers are taking relaxation to the next level – offering guests a luxurious experience complete with a clean, green conscience.
Top resort developers such as B.C.’s family-owned Aviawest Resort Group, are embracing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and constructing green resort buildings that combine sustainable design with world-class comforts and amenities.
For the last decade, increasingly more construction projects (office buildings, houses, condominiums) have been built to LEED standards. Now resort properties are thinking green and keeping their pampering appeal intact. The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina was the first in North America awarded platinum certification (the highest level) in October 2008. Others in the US have followed, including the Ever Vail Village in Colorado and the Bardessono in Napa Valley, California.
The trend is continuing north of the border. Canada’s first resort targeting LEED platinum certification, Parkside Victoria Resort & Spa, celebrated its grand opening in June 2010. The newest project inspired by Aviawest Resort Group, Parkside made an immediate impression on the international architectural design scene, winning gold in both the resort architecture and site plan design & utilization categories at the 2010 American Resort Development Association’s (ARDA) award gala.
Parkside was recently awarded a 5 Green Key rating with the Green Key Global Eco-Rating Program, a rating system designed to recognize the commitment of hotels, motels and resorts to improving their environmental performance, and five awards by the Canadian Home Builders' Association of Vancouver Island Achievements and Renovations of Excellence (CARE) Awards.
Integrating sustainable practices came naturally, said CEO Jim Pearson, who attributed the move towards sustainability to his father and company founder Andrew Pearson.
“It’s always been a real passion of my father’s - he’s a real environmentalist at heart,” said Jim Pearson, who estimates building to LEED platinum standard added about 15 per cent to the project's cost. “As a developer he sees it as his responsibility to build with future generations in mind.”
The elder Pearson put his educational background in urban land development and biology to use early in the 1990’s with Aviawest’s flagship property Pacific Shores Resort & Spa in Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island.
“We should leave the earth a better place, however, that isn’t often the case anymore,” said Andrew Pearson. “I love my kids and grandkids, and I’m motivated to ‘preach’ – but everyone must walk the walk if the earth is to survive.”
A green building is constructed using environmentally responsible processes and is resource efficient. It is not just about design and construction or operation and maintenance; it’s about the entire life-cycle of the building.
In the case of luxury resorts, green design features are integrated with stunning architecture, luxurious accommodations and an impressive variety of amenities. When done right, green features provide a welcoming space for family vacations and special events.
For example, When the Victoria Film Festival explored venues for its 2010 opening gala, it was Parkside’s unique three-storey glass atrium, complete with fish-filled ponds and rare tropical plant species adopted from the Crystal Gardens, that caught organizers’ eyes.
“I loved the furniture, the rock work and the ponds, it’s both serene and elegant,” said festival director Kathy Kay. “We got the best feedback after the opening gala and it’s going to be hard to top it (next year).”
Not so visible to the naked eye, however, is the fact that waste and materials were diverted from landfills at a rate of 92.3 per cent during Parkside’s construction. When it only needed to divert 75 per cent to meet LEED standards.
The resort’s storm water treatment removes a minimum of 80 per cent of total suspended solids, and it uses a 68,500-gallon storm water tank collection system for irrigation purposes throughout the resort.
While extra care and costs are needed during the design and construction phases of green buildings, the operational costs are less. Total energy cost savings throughout the resort, for example, are estimated at 47 per cent better than the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB).
Whether viewed poolside or the designer’s chair, green building practices simply make the most sense in a world striving for sustainability. Innovative vacation destinations are revealing that a vacation home away from home can be lavish without being wasteful.
IF YOU GO:
• Parkside Victoria Resort and Spa
Phone: 1-866-941-4175
Website: http://www.parksidevictoria.com
• Aviawest
Phone: 1-866-986- 2222
Website: http://www.aviawest.com
GREEN BUILDINGS:
▪ Canadian Green Building Council / LEED Canada
Website: http://www.cagbc.org/leed/what/index.php
