GREENSBORO, N.C.—Guests at the newly opened Proximity Hotel, here, are not just enjoying the comfort and looks of Durkan’s Merit Custom carpeting. They have the additional comfort of knowing the broadloom helped the establishment become the first hotel in the U.S. to receive Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Merit Custom contains pre- and post-consumer content and is certified as an environmentally friendly product under the Carpet & Rug Institute’s Green Label Plus program. In addition to supplying the carpeting, Durkan worked with the hotel’s contractors and designers to recommend adhesives that also meet the most stringent rules for indoor air quality.

The AAA Four Diamond, Proximity offers a glimpse of the future with more than 70 sustainable practices built into the 147-room facility. In addition to the carpeting some eco-friendly aspects include such things as 100 solar panels, which heat 60% of the facility’s water, and energy recovery systems such as North America’s first installation of the regenerative drive for Otis’ Gen2 elevator, which reduces net energy usage by capturing the system’s energy and feeding it back into the building’s internal electrical grid.

Dennis Quaintance, chief design officer and president of Quaintance-Weaver, the hotel’s owner, said many of the environmental enhancements are not outwardly visible to guests. “How can you tell if the hot water for your shower was heated by yesterday’s sunlight or with natural gas? We made sure none of our sustainable practices caused one iota of sacrifice in comfort for our guests.”

Durkan’s carpet was used to unite Proximity’s guest rooms, corridors and onsite restaurant, Print Works Bistro, which also includes a number of sustainable practices, including sensor-controlled ventilation for the kitchen, geothermal energy for the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment and tabletops made of reclaimed walnut.

What visitors will notice, he added, are the oversized windows providing abundant natural light and great amounts of fresh air in their guestrooms, along with the comfortable and custom furnishings.

For more information on Durkan, call 800.241.4580.