Towards Sustainable Hospitality: Integrating Environmentally Sustainable Interior Design Strategies in Hotels

Abstract

Environmental issues and lack of resources are the main common concerns worldwide. The built environment and more specifically the sector of the hotel industry stand for a significant contributor regarding these issues. Therefore, it is undeniable that this attitude must change and instead take a sustainable path if we want to have a decent environment for ourselves and other generations to come. This research thesis investigates the process of creating sustainable interior environments in hotel settings that aim for a minimum negative impact on environmental degradation and resource deficiency. However, this approach should not affect the quality of the guest experience. Moreover, it focuses on finding interior design strategies for hotels and how designers should implement these strategies in their planning and design choices. To accomplish this purpose, qualitative research has been undertaken by exploring different findings and assessing previous data. Firstly, it was presented the role of hotels in a sustainable build environment as well as the recent trends of sustainability this sector is undergoing. It is very important to acknowledge the most impactful areas of hotel interiors to propose and investigate the right approaches. The research focuses on two major contributors to the sustainability of hotel interiors. Firstly, is the topic of energy-efficient systems and their crucial role in shaping the interior functionally and healthily. The second most important topic is the materiality of the interior including finishes and furnishings. The discussion of these key elements reveals important design strategies that interior designer can follow in their process of designing with a sensible approach towards the environment. These findings lead to a design project, used as an integrated case study which shows in practice the advantages but also some limitations when aiming to adapt sustainable interior design strategies in an existing hotel in Berlin. Strategies with a focus on sustainable materials seem to be very successful and help to shape the interior hotels in a functional, aesthetic, and yet conscious way. Whereas the strategies regarding the energy-efficient systems face some restrictions as it's an existing building, however, some effective strategies come to place as the integration of solar paneling or the use of energy efficient lighting. The research concluded into different interior design strategies regarding materiality and energy-efficient systems and their combination possibilities into attempting to create sustainable interiors