Heathrow Hotel Proposal

Dexter Moren Associates has released images of what it describes as “its most sustainably designed hotel to date.” The 19,000m2 scheme, for developer Skyport Enterprises, comprises a 290 room hotel with bar, restaurant and conference facilities, located on a green belt site at Heathrow.

A key feature of the hotel is its double skin façade which enables passive solar control and acoustic protection from its location under the flight paths. Louvers strategically placed to relate to the sun paths will be utilised to minimise heat gain and reduce the demand on air conditioning.

Zoe Tallon, architect at DMA said the team hoped to design a hotel that would passively reduce initial energy consumption. “We propose to augment these natural systems with active methods such as ground source heat pumps and solar thermal collectors to create an exemplary sustainable hotel.”

The building is composed as a ‘doughnut’ type volume arranged around a central atrium space and directly relates to the site constraints of green belt and nature conversation land, occupying the left over space available within the site boundaries.

The façade treatment has been built up from the layering of four separate elements and will feature an inner and outer skin, vertical louvers and horizontal walk-on brise soleil. The inner skin incorporates ‘punctured’ bedroom windows surrounded by aluminium metal panels with a reflective arboreal pattern to subtly reference its location and add depth. The outer skin features a larger leaf pattern as a screen print effect building up depth and complexity. Again the pattern reflects the natural setting. The glass skin envelopes the east, south and west elevations where the effects of heat gain are most prevalent, facilitating the low energy performance and acoustic control.

Dexter Moren Associates recently announced the appointment of two new directors – Wan Yau and Herbert Lui – and two new associates – Matthew Sturley and Jacqui Labb.
www.dextermoren.com