• A green roof planned for the adjoining
Print Works Bistro restaurant.
Taken together, these energy-conserving
features are quite effective — the hotel consumes about 40 percent less energy than
similar hotels constructed to code and over 30
percent less water. Also commendable is the
diversion of nearly 90 percent of construction
debris to other uses rather than trucking it to
the landfill.
“It’s an urban legend that employing sustainable practices with new construction is
too expensive,” says Quaintance. While green
technologies added roughly $1.5 million to
$2 million to the hotel’s construction costs,
these expenses will be recovered in less than
four years of operation — the water-saving
technologies alone paid for themselves in
the first half-year. These cost-recovery statistics, along with reduced day-to-day operating costs, are key to the hotel’s profitability.
Overall, Quaintance expects to save $140,000
a year in utility costs.
Green is in the Details
An undertaking as complex as the Proximity would not have succeeded without attention to every detail. For example, to find the
perfect water-conserving toilet, Quaintance
used his personal residence to test a number
of different designs: “So many types of toilets
were tested that my kids would look forward
to seeing the ‘commode du jour.’” The toilet
finally selected reduces water consumption by
about one-third gallon per flush; combined
with other water-saving techniques like low-flow (2-gallon, or 7.6-liter, per minute) shower
heads, the hotel saves around 2 million gallons
( 7,600 kiloliters) of water per year.
Many of the hotel’s materials are recycled
or sustainable: Tabletops are reclaimed walnut,
most of the woodwork contains wheat straw,
bathroom tiles consist of 42 percent recycled
material and hand railings are made from recycled steel. To involve the community, 90 percent of the hotel’s furniture was made locally,
and local artists created most of the artwork.
A nearby stream also received personal
attention during construction. The Proximity
contributed $200,000 to restore the stream,
and staff worked with the city to establish a permanent conservation easement to protect the
stream from future development. Since restoring the stream, staff and guests have reported
sightings of spotted ducks, a great blue heron
and a red-tailed hawk, all remarkable for this
central-city location.
truly Sustainable Design
is Attractive, profitable
Quaintance asserts that “ugly is not sustainable,” that you have to design a building that
future generations will love and want to save
if the building is to be truly sustainable. We all
proximity
Oversized windows provide natural lighting to
97 percent of occupied space.
know of buildings that were modern-looking
and stylish when first built but that seemed
dated and out-of-place 10 years later. To create a design that would stand the test of time,
Quaintance studied successful architecture
throughout history, including some popular
U.S. renovation projects. The Proximity’s classical proportions and exterior detail bring it into
harmony with the surrounding cityscape while
paying homage to the historic Proximity Cotton Mill and Print Works once located nearby.
When asked about his motivation for building the Proximity Hotel, Quaintance says: “We
are all here as time-travelers — we just happen
to be here at this point in time, and before long
we will be gone. What will future generations say
about us? By being sincere about our efforts to
improve the environment, sincere about being
accountable for our actions, we can protect the
environment while running a profitable business. There is not a human being in the world
who does not respond positively to sincerity.”
About the Hotel: The Proximity, a AAA
Four Diamond hotel, is located at 704 Green
Valley Road in Greensboro. Amenities include
meeting space, a fitness studio, an outdoor
swimming pool and the Print Works Bistro.
proximityhotel.com ST
