An Upcoming Gaia at Anderson looks to earn LEED Gold in California

Gaia at Anderson, a new 122-room eco-friendly hotel is almost complete in the town of Anderson, just south of Redding, California. The project is costing Wen-I Chang, creator of America’sfirst LEED Gold certified hotel in Napa Valley (Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa) a whopping $14 million. Construction crews are employing state-of-the-art green building practices, [...]

Gaia at Anderson, a new 122-room eco-friendly hotel is almost complete in the town of Anderson, just south of Redding, California. The project is costing Wen-I Chang, creator of America’sfirst LEED Gold certified hotel in Napa Valley (Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa) a whopping $14 million. Construction crews are employing state-of-the-art green building practices, such as recycling building materials, while almost 90% of the wood used in construction of the hotel is certified as sustainably-harvested by the Forest Stewardship Council and comes from local timber sources within 500 miles of the hotel’s location.

Contractors are also using low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints to provide above-standard indoor air quality, while all carpets and padding are made from recycled materials. As for the hotel’s exterior, 11 acres of chemical-free landscaping will surround the hotel’s structure.

Gaia at Anderson will be equipped with “SolaTubes”, allowing solar lighting—natural light from the sun—to illuminate the public areas of the hotel , replacing electric lights and energy consumption during the day. Solar power will also provide over 12% of the hotel’s electrical needs, while a real-time display in the lobby shows how much energy and water is being used by the hotel, and how much carbon is being saved due to sophisticated energy conservation at the hotel.

Each bathroom is constructed with recycled tiles and granite, and low-flush toilets - the project has already achieved a water use reduction of about 40%. All of the guestrooms come equipped with low-flow shower-heads and recycling bins. Newspapers are not delivered to each occupied room, rather, they are located in the lobby and are available there for guests. Bulk soap and shower dispensers are used in all guestrooms, eliminating hundreds of pounds of plastic containers and packaging daily from miniature shower bottles and soap. Only recycled paper products are used at the hotel. All of the hotel’s windows used are efficient, low energy transmittable and reduce glare. A cool reflective roof reflects heat, saving money in cooling costs.

For more information, visit the Gaia at Anderson online here.