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The Ritz Carlton-Charlotte, LEED Gold hotel in North Carolina. Copyright The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

As founding partner of Browning + Bannon, Bill Browning conducted a charrette to explore green building strategies for a five star hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Designed as part of a planned expansion of the Bank of America’s headquarters complex, Ritz-Carlton wanted to create a sustainable and healthy atmosphere for their guests. By focusing efforts on back-of-house water and energy conservation and indoor air quality, this modern and environmentally responsible hotel uses 30% less energy than conventional hotels. Water usage was reduced by 35% by installing water-saving fixtures and allowing guests to opt out of the fresh daily linen service. Outside air is circulated at 60 cubic feet per minute, greatly improving the air quality for guests and staff alike. After opening its doors in October of 2009, this 188-room hotel is the first Ritz-Carlton hotel to achieve LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Because corporate meeting planners across the country are looking for green locations to book, the Charlotte Ritz-Carlton quickly produced the highest occupancy rates of any in the brand.

*Work performed by Bill Browning in affiliation with Browning+Bannon, and Bob Fox in affiliation with COOKFOX Architects.

*Heading and feature image copyright The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

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