Exeter hotel is ‘an exemplar for all new-build hotels’
RED Construction Group has completed the 4-star vocoZeal Hotel at Exeter Science Park, finalising the construction of the UK’s first branded Net Zero Carbon hotel.
The £22m project has resulted in a 100% electric hotel, with the UK’s first vertical photovoltaic cladding system generating more solar energy each year than the building consumes.
RED Construction South West managing director Derek Quinn said: “This voco Zeal hotel has got to be an exemplar for all new-build hotels, highlighting what is achievable when collaboration and ambition meet.
“This is a milestone project for all of our careers, and a prototype for what’s possible, evidence of how our expertise can help deliver projects that put the South West’s innovation on the map nationally.”
Innovations in the design and construction mean the 142-bedroom hotel is operating with industry-leading benchmark-setting Energy Use Intensity (EUI) levels, a critical measure that will define building sustainability in the decades to come.
Tim Wheeldon, founding director at Zeal Hotels, added: “Creating a benchmark for the hotel industry on a global scale required a first-class project team, and RED Construction Group has been a brilliant partner to have through this process, bringing their expertise to the project and going above and beyond to achieve not only the sustainability goals, but at a cost that makes new hotels viable, improving our environment without costing more.
“This is a first for the industry and we are looking forward to collaborating with other hoteliers and developers regarding additional Net Zero Carbon hotels.”
