Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of our proposals for The Columbia, and we are committed to achieving a BREEAM* rating of ‘Excellent’ for the hotel.

As part of our plans, we will look to completely replace and improve the hotel’s mechanical and electrical provisions, significantly improving the building’s sustainability credentials. The following measures are proposed to accomplish this:

  • Remove the two oil fire boilers that currently heat the building

  • Install gas fired boilers for hot water production

  • Air Source Heat Pumps in the lightwells to provide heating and cooling

  • High efficiency LED lights will be installed around the hotel

  • Reduce water usage in accordance with BREEAM guidelines

  • All existing windows will be secondary glazed to improve thermal and acoustic efficiency

  • The new extension will exceed current building regulations for conservation of fuel and power

  • Add insulation to all parts of the roof that are currently uninsulated

  • An overall energy reduction of 68% when comparing the proposed development with the current building.

These measures will reduce the building’s reliance on fossil fuels and dramatically reduce its energy consumption and carbon output.

Biodiversity

Our plans include measures to boost the biodiversity contribution othe hotel, including:

• Landscaping and planting in the front garden

• Potted plants, trees and planters in the rooftop garden

• Bat boxes, bird boxes, bee hives and bug hotels in the rooftop garden

• A focus on providing new habitats for pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.

*BREEAM is an industry recognised system, which uses a number of sustainability scales and measures to determine how well a building performs environmentally. For more information about BREEAM, click here.