UK: Hospitality design firm Studio Moren has partnered with the Energy and Environment Alliance (EEA) to provide guidance on sustainable architecture and interior design.
The EEA is a non-profit coalition driving the decarbonisation of the hospitality industry. Studio Moren will work with the EEA to steer the development of the new BREEAM in Use Hospitality (BiUH) standard.
Bryan Oknyansky, senior designer and certified passive house designer at Studio Moren, will sit on the EEA technical committee to work with the organisation and the BRE Group in designing hospitality-specific standards, metrics and methodologies.
Oknyansky said: “According to UN data, the built environment is currently responsible for about 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions. As architects and designers, we have a key role to play in driving a reduction in carbon emissions, as the greatest opportunity for impact on building performance and energy efficiency comes at the design stage.
“Measures being more widely adopted by the hospitality industry include designing out the excess energy demands of operating buildings and recovering heat from both plant equipment and wastewater for reuse elsewhere in building services. Additionally, exploiting opportunities for circularity will lead to the use of materials and products that have lower embodied carbon through sourcing locally, recycling and reuse.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with the EEA and its partners to further increase the uptake of such measures, whilst also helping asset owners and managers in the hospitality industry mitigate climate risk and meet net zero targets,” he added.
Ufi Ibrahim, CEO and founder of the EEA, said: “Studio Moren stands out as a hospitality focused architectural and design practice that puts sustainability at the heart of its creative philosophy. We are therefore delighted to have its input into our technical committee, helping to determine the most relevant and useful standards and metrics for ESG in the industry.”
