The USGBC has awarded LEED Certification to the Viana Hotel and Spa in Westbury, New York. Led by the Cotocon Group, New York-based Hero Architects, and New York-based firm Twig, the hotel marks Long Island’s only green-built feng shui hotel.

Starting with the demolition, the Viana Hotel and Spa first ensured that materials from the previous structure were carefully recycled and that the new building was developed using environmentally conscious techniques. The wall insulation, steel, and concrete used for the structure are all made of recycled material-including Icynene roof insulation, which is made partially from recycled soda bottles. A 10kw solar panel system on the rooftop also contributes to the renewable energy empowering the entire building.

The hotel boasts a paperless guest check-in and check-out process, an in-room heating and cooling system with a smart digital thermostat and sensor, and dimmable LED lighting in all public areas. In guest bathrooms there are dual flush toilets and water-restricted sinks to conserve water, while the landscaping is made up of low water-usage plants watered by a drip irrigation system.

“The unsung hero at the Viana Hotel and Spa unquestionably has to be the indoor environmental quality,” says Jimmy Carchietta, CEO of the Cotocon Group. “Although this is not as visible as LED lighting, the owner and design team have gone above and beyond the basic indoor code requirements to ensure that the indoor air quality is better inside the Viana, than the air we breathe outdoors.”
