Close on the heels of winning the 2012 Design Award from Lodging Hospitality this month, the Omni Dallas Hotel has been awardedthe LEED Gold New Construction (NC) certification. This certification catapults the Omni Dallas into the distinction of being Texas’ only LEED Gold hotel as well as the largest US-based LEED Gold Certified Hotel outside Las Vegas.
Jack Matthews of the Hotel’s Developer, Matthews Southwest, stated that they had surpassed the expected mandate of achieving LEED Silver status and attributed the success to the team’s professionalism and hard work.
The Hotel, which commenced operation on 11 November, 2011 implemented practices aligning with LEED Gold standards. Even while designing and constructing the Hotel, the construction team adhered to the sustainability protocol that consisted of use of recycled and indigenous materials, water conservation and reduced construction pollution initiatives. Balfour/Russell/Pegasus, the Contractor for the Project, got a LEED consultant on-board along with other LEED accredited professionals to supervise the project to ensure that the building is compliant with the U.S, Green Building Council norms. Some of the initiatives taken in the direction of sustainability during the design and construction of the Omni Dallas Hotel include use of reclaimed timber and brick for the interiors of the hotel’s restaurant, construction of roofs with materials high on solar reflective index to mitigate the heat island effects, disposal of construction waste through recycling, conservation of city water by effective harvesting of storm water in a 25,000-gallon cistern and control of lighting and HVAC systems by means of the room key which has to go into a slot by the room door to activate the lighting and HVAC systems.
Source: http://www.omnihotels.com