Chinatown Orchard Garden is First SF LEED Hotel

SAN FRANCISCO — The $25 million Orchard Garden Hotel became the first hotel in the city awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The 86-room hotel, which is set in the heart of San Francisco’s tourist belt between the historic Union Square and Chinatown, is the third hotel in the United States to receive LEED recognition for environmental sustainability, officials say.

The structure incorporates thermal insulation to reduce heating and air-conditioning demands and enhance energy efficiency. Water consumption is reduced through the use of low-flow faucets and toilets. The hotel also features an energy monitoring and control system, which uses guestroom key-card entry/exit activity to optimize climate control and energy efficiency.

Sound-absorbing materials and surfaces deliver improved acoustic performance for quieter guest rooms. The building’s environmental quality is further enhanced through low-VOC carpeting manufactured from recycled materials, and only organic, chemical-free cleaning products are used for maintenance and sanitation.

With the hotels traditionally a high-end user of materials and chemicals, the Orchard hotel made efforts to cut down material waste and chemical use during its daily operations. The hotel uses recycled paper and soy-based inks, and all rooms feature bins so guests and housekeeping can recycle. All fabrics are chemical-free recycled textiles and are machine washed to avoid the use of dry-cleaning chemicals, officials say.

Waste generated during the construction project was diverted from landfill for re-purposing.