11th Annual Roland Batten Lecture : Humanitarian Architecture

We are pleased to announce that our own Rolf Kielman will be speaking at the 11th annual Roland Batten Lecture on Wednesday, October 20th at 5:30pm, at 301 Williams Hall on the UVM Campus. Rolf will be presenting a talk on Humanitarian Architecture: a presentation of essential built work in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The event is free and open to the public.

Projects will be presented from Latin America, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Most of these projects address essential housing, educational and community needs. Those involved in the implementation of these projects include architects, builders, planners and an extensive network of volunteers and non-government agencies. These necessary works are often of a design-build nature and utilize local resources, labor and building materials. Indigenous methods of construction shape the basic approach but new and sustainable methods of detailing and building are used to ensure improved durability.

The projects presented are situated in Guatemala, Uganda, Mozambique, Guinea and Bangladesh. They range from modest cooking facilities and dormitories, to schools and community centers. The work highlights the increasing involvement of young designers, engaged individuals and volunteer organizations who working to improve the quality of life in areas fraught with poverty and the impact of natural disasters and environmental degradation.

Rolf will also describe several ways in which you can become involved in this kind of work and local organizations and firms that you might wish to contact.

This is the 11th Annual Roland Batten Lecture, a series created in honor of our friend and colleague, architect Roland Batten who passed away in 1999. This event is sponsored by the Roland Batten Memorial Fund, TruexCullins, and the University of Vermont's Visiting Artists, Art Critics and Art Historians Lecture Series. We hope to see you there!

Top Five: Hotels

posted by Matthew Bushey, AIA

Just in time for your summer vacation plans, this week we look at five of our top hotels for interior design.  All of these are places that we have experienced firsthand, and have walked away with a strong impression.  We tried to mix it up so that no matter what kind of vacation you’re planning, or which corner of the country you’re visiting, there is something here for everyone.

We know hotel design, both in our architectural practice and our interior design studio.  But I should mention that we excluded any of our own projects from this list of five.  Instead, this is our unbiased look at the work of other design firms, taking note of where we find inspiration.

1.  HOTEL TERRA, Teton Village, WY

One of our favorite places to stay when traveling out west is the Hotel Terra, located at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and just one mile from the Grand Teton National Park.  Some of the best skiing in the country is right at your door, and you’re just steps from some of the most beautiful expanses of national wilderness you will ever see.  TruexCullins has worked in the neighborhood, on both the Teton Mountain Lodge and Teton Springs Resort, so we’re familiar with the area and all it has to offer.

But beyond the desirable locale, we love the Hotel Terra for its ‘modern mountain’ aesthetic and environmentally-focused design.  The Terra was one of the first LEED-certified hotels when it opened a few years ago.  It is now charting new ground for the whole hospitality industry, proving that sustainability and luxury can peacefully coexist.  In fact, at the Hotel Terra, we would say its environmental amenities actually define the guest experience: natural, healthy, and luxurious.

2.  THE LIBERTY HOTEL, Boston, MA

The Charles Street Jail was built in 1851 on the edge of Beacon Hill, overlooking the Charles River.  After closing in 1990 due to deteriorating conditions, the historic building was transformed into a modern luxury hotel that retains the feel of the century-old prison.  Dubbed the Liberty Hotel, this is our #2 pick for its clever integration of old and new.

The large historic windows have been beautifully preserved, along with the original stone and brick masonry and the prison cell iron bars.  The jail’s central atrium soars 90 feet and forms the core of the hotel lobby, encircled by the catwalks once used by prison guards.  18 of the guestrooms are housed in the original jail, with the remaining 280 rooms located in a new 16-story tower connected to the main building.  Stay in this hotel and you will truly feel like a pampered prisoner.

3.  ARIA, Las Vegas, NV

The Aria Resort is the largest hotel of the $8.5 billion CityCenter mega-development in the heart of the Las Vegas strip.  As with all things Vegas, the scale is impressive, with over 4,000 guestrooms, 16 restaurants, and a dedicated mass-transit system to bring you from one end of the property to the other. CityCenter is the largest private development in US history and takes up 67 acres of real estate in the middle of the Las Vegas desert.  Yet in spite of this massive scale, the hotel has received LEED-Gold certification.

Even more than its scale or sustainability, Aria’s most notable feature is the fact that it represents a radical departure from the themed approach of Las Vegas’ recent past.  Instead of reconstructed Italian piazzas or Egyptian tombs, the architecture of Aria is firmly based on unadorned modernism.  This is its strategy for achieving authenticity: it is not trying to be anything that it’s not.

CityCenter has been called a referendum on modernism itself.  When we were there, just 5 months after it opened in December 2009, the crowds seemed healthy but not overwhelming.  Guestroom occupancy rates are down, and sales of the neighboring residential units are even worse.  Still, the verdict is out whether the masses will embrace this new chapter in the continual reinvention of Las Vegas.

4.  HOTEL AT THE THREE STORKS, Prague, Czech Republic

This is a good time for a trip to Europe, with the American dollar so strong against the Euro.  If your travels take you to the Czech Republic, you should check into the Hotel at the Three Storks. This 5-star luxury boutique hotel is located in the historic center of the city in a recently renovated historic house.  The Renaissance building has been sensitively but unabashedly updated with an unconventional, modern interior.  We especially love the dramatic use of indirect lighting, in the guestrooms and the public spaces.  Light flows from behind objects and around corners, casting a soft glow over the space and accenting key features.

5. ICE HOTEL, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, Quebec

Just north of the border, about 30 minutes from Quebec City, lies a hotel made entirely of ice.  It is actually rebuilt every winter, and open for a few short months during the coldest season.  The Ice Hotel, or Hotel de Glace, changes and grows each year.  It is now up to 36 guestrooms and suites, each with unique ice carvings and some with fireplaces.  Multiple layers of animal pelts keep you warm at night, and you can take a dip in one of the open-air hot tubs to warm up.  The Ice Bar is the center of the action, where the house specialty is Vodka, of course (served in an ice glass).  There is also a chapel that’s popular for weddings.

I was there in 2002, one year after its inaugural season.  It has been rebuilt every year since, and this winter the Ice Hotel celebrated its 10th anniversary.  For the first time this March, it had to close 2 weeks early due to a record warm winter, (another consequence of global warming).  But for those 10 weeks of winter we still have, the Ice Hotel is one of the most memorable hotels you will encounter.

Have you discovered a great hotel?  Leave a comment and share your favorite.

So What’s an Eco-Lodge?

posted by David Epstein, AIA, LEED AP

My colleague and I just returned from Ethiopia where we are working on LEED certification for several new buildings at the International Community School of Addis Ababa.  As part of the trip, we were fortunate to travel 4 hours south to Bishangari Ecolodge.

Bishangari is on the shores of Lake Langano and consists of 8 cabins, a dining pavilion and kitchen, and office.  All are solar powered and the kitchen uses bio-gas for cooking.  Bio-gas is created from solid human waste and food scraps mixed in a digester.  The mixture off-gasses methane that is then piped into the kitchen for cooking.  The setting is natural and remote. Getting there is part of the adventure and requires 4 wheel drive and nerves of steel -- one of the bridges was a metal container!

But it was worth it.  After we parked and started the walk in, we could here the grunts of the warthogs that live among cabins.  The lush setting includes baboons, monkeys, pelicans…we even saw hippos feeding at dusk.  We walked through forest villages where life has not changed for thousands of years.

So what is an eco-lodge? Well according to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), founded in 1990, ecotourism is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” An eco-lodge goes a bit further. The Nature Conservancy published Ecolodge Guidelines based on the work of Hitesh Mehta, one of the leading authorities on ecotourism.  They define an ecolodge as a lodge having minimal impact, that fits into the physical and cultural context, utilizes green technologies, involves and benefits local communities, and integrates environmental and cultural education into the visitor’s experience.

The integration of sustainability, economic benefit and education is a powerful combination. Our experience certainly brought us a deeper understanding and appreciation of a different culture and habitat.