Ecopenta has managed to certify the first new construction hotel in Spain with a BREEAM Very Good certificate

Ecopenta continues to lead the environmental certifications sector in the hotel sector, obtaining a BREEAM Veru Good*** certification for the first new construction hotel in Spain.

Ecopenta has managed to certify the first new construction hotel in Spain with a BREEAM Very Good certificate

BREEAM certification, of English origin and the oldest of environmental certifications (as well as the most used in Europe), promotes a more sustainable construction that has economic, environmental and social benefits for all people linked to the life of the building.

Following the line of Corporate Social Responsibility, established in our company to improve daily performance of society in general and of projects in particular, we are prepared to be able to help our clients throughout the process of BREEAM certification of a building or urban development.

Motel One Ciutadella, is a 1.300 m2 building divided into 6 floors, located on Passeig Pujades, one of the most central areas of Barcelona. This unique Hotel, with 301 rooms, combines a traditional construction with the incorporation of systems and elements of sustainability that significantly improve the environmental performance of the building, as well as guaranteeing a perfect comfort for its users. All interior elements perfectly integrated into the avant-garde design of this hotel, come from local manufacturers and are inspired by the natural elements of the fauna and flora of the environment.

In order to guarantee the correct environmental performance of the Hotel, the BREEAM certification has been used, through which the building has been certified, obtaining a category of BREEAM Very Good ***.

Some of the implemented strategies in the construction, are the following:

-          Incorporation of a centralized Management System, which allows the monitoring of the main building systems, as well as the management for the optimization of the facilities. From the following functions: automatic shutdown of the facilities during non-use, lighting regulation and air conditioning according to occupation, alternative operation of duplicate equipment (which allows to extend its useful life) and a recollection of historical data, it can be known, and optimized, the Hotel energy consumption.

 

-          Installation of low water consumption devices and incorporation of native plants to avoid the installation of an artificial irrigation system, which achieves an overall water saving of over 25 % (compared to a traditional building).

 

-          During the design stage, biodiversity and erosion control plans were developed, with the aim of minimizing environmental risks and increase the capacity for generating biodiversity on the site. Likewise, it has been sought that the vast majority of materials used in the construction, have environmental certificates or eco-labels.

 

-          One of the strongest points of the construction phase, has been the construction management, which has been carried out according to the best environmental management practices, with special emphasis on the reduction of consumption and impacts of the construction, as well as also in the minimization and the valorization of the generated waste.

With all this, one of the most significant savings, achieved through good management of the work and a highly studied environmental design, has been the consumed energy savings, which has been reduced by 929.975 kWh/year, which translates into an emission reduction of 208.888 kgCO2 per year, equivalent to a plantation of 1045 pine trees of the species Pinus Pinea (typical species of the Iberian Peninsula).