Renew, Restore, Recycle

In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, The Allison Inn & Spa aims to cultivate the well-being of its guests and its land.

9 MIN READ

Just outside Portland, Ore., the highway spills between rounded hillsides of vineyards and farms that until recently were rife with visitors and low on lodging. Roots run deep herenot only in terms of grapes, orchards, and generations of other agriculture, but also in pride for stewardship of the land. When Joan Austin, owner of the Allison Inn & Spa, decided to build an 85-room hotel, spa, event facility, and restaurant in the small suburb of Newberg, she brought environmental and contextual sensitivity to the table. Delivering a consummate guest experience remained a vital priority, however, and the resulting combination allows visitors to relax in luxury while treading lightly on the earth.

Project: The Allison Inn & Spa

Green team

Architect, interior designer, landscape architect: GGLO, Alan Grainger, principal in charge; Pamela Trevithick, senior associate project manager; James Bradley, principal project designer; Carol Schaefer, principal interior designer; Mark Sindell, senior associate project landscape architect; Hal Eden, Jennifer Stormont, Rachel Gubser, Lindsey McBride Clibborn, Zack Thomas, Christy Vignali, Kelley LeBlac, Alicia Daniels Uhlig, Anne Gustavson, and Kevin Reed, integrated team members, gglo.com

Owner, developer: Springbrook Properties, springbrookproperties.com

Accessibility: Endelman & Associates, endelman.com

Acoustics and audio visuals: Listen Acoustics, listenacoustics.com

Arborist: Walter H. Knapp Silviculture & Urban Forestry

Civil engineer: Cardno WRG, wrgd.com

Construction manager: Compass Builders, compassbuilders.com

Contractor: Lease Crutcher Lewis, lewisbuilds.com

Elevator: Lerch Bates, lerchbates.com

Envelope: RDH Group, rdhbe.com

Food concept: John Hurst Design

Fountain designer: Fountain Technology & Design

Geotechnical: GeoDesign, geodesigninc.com

Hardware: Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies Northwest, w3.securitytechnologies.com

Hospitality consultant: Waterford Hotels and Inns, waterfordhi.com

Kitchen and laundry: Marshall Associates, marshassoc.com

LEED enhanced commissioning: BEA Consulting

Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, lighting, technology, and energy modeling: Glumac, glumac.com

Pool: Water Technology, watertechnologyinc.com

Spa: Health Fitness Dynamics, hfdspa.com

Specification writer: Technical Resources Consultants

Structural engineer: Kramer Gehlen & Associates, kga.cc

Materials and Sources

Acoustical system, ceilings: Baswa Acoustic, baswa.com; Armstrong, armstrong.com; Newmat, newmat.com

Adhesives, coatings, and sealants: Laticrete, laticrete.com; Custom Building Products, custombuildingproducts.com; Franklin Adhesives & Polymers, franklinadhesivesandpolymers.com; Dow Corning, dowcorning.com; Hilti, hilti.com

Building management systems and services: Siemens USA, usa.siemens.com

Carpet and rugs: Shaw Hospitality Group, shawhospitalitygroup.com; Shaw Contract Group, shawcontractgroup.com; Vicki Simon Rugs, vickisimon.com; Atiyeh International, atiyeh.com

Cladding: Prodema, prodema.com; Guinett Masonry, guinettmasonry.com

Curtainwalls: Kawneer, kawneer.com

Fabrics: Architex International, architex-jlh.com; ArcCom Fabrics, arc-com.com; Aviron Textiles, avirontextiles.com; Bergamo Fabrics, bergamofabrics.com; Brentano Fabrics, brentanofabrics.com; Carnegie Fabrics, carnegiefabrics.com; Clarence House, clarencehouse.com; Designtex, designtex.com; Donghia, donghia.com; Edelman Leather, edelmanleather.com; Schumacher, schumacher.com; Fabricut, fabricut.com; Galbraith & Paul Lighting + Textiles, galbraithandpaul.com; Glant, glant.com; Glen Raven, glenraven.com; HBF Textiles, hbftextiles.com; Henry Calvin; Joseph Noble, josephnoble.com; KnollTextiles, knolltextiles.com; Loop; Luna Textiles, lunatextiles.com; Maharam, maharam.com; Mokum, mokumtextiles.com; Momentum Textiles, themomgroup.com; Moore & Giles, mooreandgilesinc.com; Osbourne & Little, osbourneandlittle.com; P/Kaufmann Contract Developmnet, pkcontract.com; Pallas Textiles, pallastextiles.com; Perennials outdoor Fabrics, perennialsfabrics.com; Pollack, pollackassociates.com; Silkworks Textiles, silkworktextiles.com; Silver State Textiles, silverstatetextiles.com; Sina Pearson Textiles, sinapearson.com; Spinneybeck, spinneybeck.com; Univa Vaev Fabrics, unikavaev.com; Valley Forge Fabrics, valleyforge.com

Flooring: Oregon Lumber Co., oregonlumber.com; Daltile, daltile.com

Furniture: A. Rudin, arudin.com; Baker Interiors, kohlerinteriors.com; Bernhardt, bernhardt.com; Country Casual, countrycasual.com; Creative Pipe, creativepipe.com; Cumberland, cumberlandfurniture.com; Daniel Paul Chairs, danielpaulchairs.com; David Edward, davidedward.com; Design Within Reach, dwr.com; Driade, driade.com; Fong, Frisbie Design Concern, frisbiedesignconcern.com; Fritz Hansen, fritzhansen.com; Georgetti, georgetti-spa.it; Harter —izzy+, harter.com; Herman Miller, hermanmiller.com; IAP; Interior Environments, interiorenvironments.com; ISA International, havaseat.com; Janus et Cie, janusetcie.com; Kingsley Bate, kingsleybate.com; Knoll, knoll.com; Krug, krug.ca; Landscape Forms, landscapeforms.com; Lockhart Collection, lockhartcollection.com; Meyer Wells, meyerwells.com; Mity-Lite, mitylite.com; Nucraft, nucraft.com; RJones & Associates, rjones.com; Ralph Pucci International, ralphpucci.net; Skagit Architectural Millwork, skagitarch.com; Smith & Hawken, smithandhawken.com; U.S. Starcraft, usstarcraft.com

Glass: Hartung Glass Industries, hartung-glass.com

Green roof: American Hydrotech, hydrotechusa.com

HVAC: Innovent Air Handling Equipment, innoventair.com; Trane, trane.com; VRF Solutions, mitsubishipro.com

Insulation: CertainTeed, certainteed.com

Interior walls: Dietrich Metal Framing, dietrichmetalframing.com; Georgia-Pacific, gp.com

Lighting control systems: Philips Lightolier, lightolier.com

Lighting: Aqua Creations, aquagallery.com; Casella, claruslighting.com; Chapman Manufacturing Co., chapmanco.com; Charles Loomis, charlesloomis.com; Gulassa & Co., gulassaco.com; Hubbardton Forge, hubbardtonforge.com; Holly Hunt, hollyhunt.com; Ingo Maurer, ingo-maurer.com; Louis Poulsen, louispoulsen.com; Philips Forecast, forecastltg.com; Vibia Lighting, www.vibialight.com

Masonry, concrete, stone, and bluestone pavers: Guinett Masonry

Micro weather station system: Rain Bird, rainbird.com

Paints and finishes: Sherwin-Williams, sherwin-williams.com

Photovoltaics: Kyocera, americas.kyocera.com

Plumbing and water systems: Kohler, kohler.com; Moen, moen.com; Sloan Valve Co., sloanvalve.com

Roofing: EcoStar, ecostar.carlisle.com; Siplast, siplast.com

Site and landscape products: Invisible Structures, invisiblestructures.com

Solar hot water: Heliodyne, heliodyne.com

Wallcoverings: Innovations USA, innovationsusa.com; Romo, romo.com; Metro Wallcoverings, metrowallcoverings.com

Windows and doors: Arcadia Architectural Products, arcadiaproducts.com; Lynden Door, lyndendoor.com

The Allison is inexorably connected to its surroundings, its name derived from Lake Allison, which was created by glacial floods from Lake Missoula nearly 12,000 years ago. Jory, the inn’s restaurant, shares its name with the region’s mineral-rich soil that imparts character to the Willamette Valley’s acclaimed wines. To integrate the large property unobtrusively into the landscape, Austin originally conceived the inn as a series of cabinlike structures, but efficient operations demanded a single building. In response, the design team from Seattle-based GGLO nestled the four-story structure into the hillside so that it appears as a single story from the entrance, and the drive up the hill was carefully constructed to offer only glimpses of the building to soften its visual presence.

Agriculture was an important consideration on the 32-acre site as well, notes James Bradley, AIA, a principal at GGLO. “We looked for opportunities to bring agriculture onto the site and worked on not controlling the land and nature,” he says. A half-acre chef’s garden serves the restaurant, and five acres of vineyards will produce 12,000 bottles of wine per year when fully mature in a year and a half, roughly three years after they were planted. The landscaping includes nine acres of native meadow grasses and wildflowers such as perennial ryegrass, sweet alyssum, and baby blue eyes. “These grasses can be cut in specific places for a manicured look, and the changing wildflowers lend a dynamic seasonal experience for returning visitors,” Bradley explains.

While there are a few telltale signs that something sustainable is happening at the Allisonsuch as a 268-panel photovoltaic (PV) array that produces about 55kW above the east guest room wing and central living roommost of the green features imperceptibly enhance the visitor’s experience. Completed in 2009, the 150,000-square-foot project achieved LEED-NC Gold certification using a host of features. Few guests suspect that 28 percent of the building materials contain recycled content. More than half of the wood-based materials in the flooring, wood paneling, and built-in casework hail from Forest Stewardship Councilcertified forests; rapidly renewable aspen fiber flooring lines the spa. Regionally sourced mossy rock from Montana lends a distinguished ambiance to the lobby, spa, and building exterior.

“As evidenced by the small number of LEED certifications, hospitality is a late adopter of green practices,” says Alicia Daniels Uhlig, GGLO’s director of sustainability. “However, the Allison celebrates its sense of place and shows that sustainability is synonymous with quality and comfort.” Large, thermally broken, double-pane, low-E windows with views to the Willamette Valley keep guests mindful that they are in a lush locale and reduce heating load. A shallow pool that separates the hotel and spa entrances appears as if it trickles through the terraced landscape and reappears as a water feature inside the spa.

A 10,000-square-foot vegetated roof plus open-cell paving installed on a fire-access road that circles the building as well as on the entry driveway mitigate stormwater runoff. The team installed an irrigation system that will link up with a reclaimed water supply that the City of Newberg is in the process of creating, which will eliminate the need to use potable water in the Allison’s landscape irrigation. Low-flow fixtures in public areas and guest rooms combine with the restaurant’s high-efficiency kitchen equipment to help the project reach a 37 percent water-savings target compared to a conventionally designed building.

GGLO’s team emphasized energy reduction. Guest rooms, laundry, the restaurant’s kitchen, and the spa require ample hot water. Nearly 4,000 square feet of solar hot-water collectors on the roof help offset this demand. Combined with the PV array, the solar features reduce the facility’s projected energy load by an estimated 19 percent. The team also increased energy efficiency with variable refrigerant volume heating and cooling. Lighting in the offices and other back-of-house areas are linked to occupancy sensors, and hallway lights drop to 50 percent illumination between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Projections indicate that the combined measures will realize a 48 percent reduction in utility cost savings compared to a conventionally designed building.

The soft and hard costs of integrating features to reach a LEED Gold rating was 1.4 percent of the project budget, but after Oregon energy incentives were implemented, that dropped to a mere 0.3 percent. If the anticipated energy savings are realized, the cost will drop to 0.15 percent in a short payback period.

The Allison’s owners tended to operations with the same care as its construction. “Waste is a huge issue in hospitality, and the owners were very committed to reducing waste from the very beginning,” says Pierre Zreik, managing director for the inn.

The Allison eliminates the prolific use of plastics by giving guests small reusable glass drinking bottles and filtered water in every guest room and suite. The bottles are sanitized, refilled, and sealed after the guests check out. Large refillable bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion adorn showers. Each floor has three recycling bins to separate paper, plastic, and glass. And the restaurant also makes its own sparkling filtered water so patrons can indulge in effervescence without container waste.

If they choose to do so, guests that stay more than one night can place a card on the bed directing staff to not wash the sheets daily. Zreik says almost half take advantage of this option. “Guests respect the differences here,” he notes. “In fact, about 45 percent of our hotel business is companies coming for meetings and retreats, and many won’t even consider staying unless the hotel has a green initiative.”

To further reduce waste, the inn and restaurant sort leftover food and two farmers arrive daily to collect waste bread, vegetables, and trimmings for livestock feed. In public restrooms, individual fabric towels for hand drying add a touch of luxury and eliminate paper waste.

“The Allison helps us educate and inform others that hospitality can be truly sustainable,” Bradley says. “Once I saw how successful it was, I wish we’d pushed the boundaries even further. I’m very encouraged by how sustainable design will become the new norm for hospitality projects.”

KJ Fields writes about sustainability and architecture from Portland, Ore.

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