Go Green In a Hotel Hideaway
Nearly hidden among the trees, created out of a businessman’s house, with chilies, eggplant and lemon grass growing in the front yard, its roof fashioned from timber salvaged from the old lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Yogyakarta, the House of Turi in Solo, Central Java, is hardly your typical Indonesian hotel.
Actively involved in the international Go Green program, it is a showcase for environmental awareness and at the same time provides an 18-room oasis for visitors in a busy city.
That is a unique concept in a country where attention to the environment is shaky at best and harmful at worst.
According to a recent World Bank study of environmental issues in Indonesia, “The growing pressure of population demands, together with inadequate environmental management, is a challenge for Indonesia that hurts the poor and the economy.”
The House of Turi is doing its best to educate a country where annual losses attributed to limited access to safe water and sanitation are estimated at 2 percent of gross domestic product.
“Let the other hotels display their tall, first-class buildings,” said Yuliastuti Kartika Sari, the operations manager of the House of Turi. “We don’t want to make profit our sole target. We are putting the emphasis on educating. After spending time in our hotel, you can implement our environmental concepts back home.”
For whimsy, the hotel boasts an artificial climate — “rainwater” recycled from wastewater and a bio-fill rainwater catchment that draws guests for its refreshing atmosphere. Although the rain might be artificial, it serves a useful purpose. It is diverted to water the plants that surround the hotel.
Its restaurant is designed as a library, and it has become home to Solo’s interior design community.
The use of wood is prominent in the hotel, from the floors to the bookshelves, chairs and tables. Yuliastuti says that almost all of the wood used in the construction of the hotel is recycled or left over from furniture companies.
Some of the wood “came from the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Yogyakarta, which was wrecked by the earthquake,” Yuliastuti said.
They used the roof of the lobby from the former five-star hotel and then recycled the materials into the existing building.
“We did not just throw away our original roof. Instead, we milled it into a powder and mixed it with cement and waterproofing,” Yuliastuti said.
For lighting, the House of Turi uses energy-saving LED lamps rather than halogen or fluorescent lamps.
The hotel has solar heating technology for its water with strategically positioned tanks.
“The hot and fresh water for the bathroom and for other uses are lower down gravitationally than the high tower tank, so that we do not need more pumps,” Yuliastuti said.
According to hotel owner Paulus Mintarga, their primary source of water is an old well that still produces good quality of water.
“Before we pump the water into the water tank on the water tower, we first filter the water mechanically,” Paulus said.
The water process ends in a pipe with numerous holes, which is installed horizontally on the hotel’s roof and provides artificial rain.
The watering system is used for the hotel’s hanging garden, which has vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowering plants. “This vertical garden is also good for filtering air, to keep the air clean and fresh,” Yuliastuti said.
Yanto, who has been a regular visitor since the hotel opened less than a year ago, said, “It has a homey atmosphere. The House of Turi feels so comfortable and private.”
Adhianto Wardono, his wife, Eny Nurcholisoh, and their 6-year-old daughter, Amalia Shaffana Adhi, were reluctant to return home after their recent stay. “It’s so quiet in here, and we can have some rest,” Adhianto said.
- Candra Malik, thejakartaglobe.com
Nearly hidden among the trees, created out of a businessman’s house, with chilies, eggplant and lemon grass growing in the front yard, its roof fashioned from timber salvaged from the old lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Yogyakarta, the House of Turi in Solo, Central Java, is hardly your typical Indonesian hotel.
Actively involved in the international Go Green program, it is a showcase for environmental awareness and at the same time provides an 18-room oasis for visitors in a busy city.
That is a unique concept in a country where attention to the environment is shaky at best and harmful at worst.
According to a recent World Bank study of environmental issues in Indonesia, “The growing pressure of population demands, together with inadequate environmental management, is a challenge for Indonesia that hurts the poor and the economy.”
The House of Turi is doing its best to educate a country where annual losses attributed to limited access to safe water and sanitation are estimated at 2 percent of gross domestic product.
“Let the other hotels display their tall, first-class buildings,” said Yuliastuti Kartika Sari, the operations manager of the House of Turi. “We don’t want to make profit our sole target. We are putting the emphasis on educating. After spending time in our hotel, you can implement our environmental concepts back home.”
For whimsy, the hotel boasts an artificial climate — “rainwater” recycled from wastewater and a bio-fill rainwater catchment that draws guests for its refreshing atmosphere. Although the rain might be artificial, it serves a useful purpose. It is diverted to water the plants that surround the hotel.
Its restaurant is designed as a library, and it has become home to Solo’s interior design community.
The use of wood is prominent in the hotel, from the floors to the bookshelves, chairs and tables. Yuliastuti says that almost all of the wood used in the construction of the hotel is recycled or left over from furniture companies.
Some of the wood “came from the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Yogyakarta, which was wrecked by the earthquake,” Yuliastuti said.
They used the roof of the lobby from the former five-star hotel and then recycled the materials into the existing building.
“We did not just throw away our original roof. Instead, we milled it into a powder and mixed it with cement and waterproofing,” Yuliastuti said.
For lighting, the House of Turi uses energy-saving LED lamps rather than halogen or fluorescent lamps.
The hotel has solar heating technology for its water with strategically positioned tanks.
“The hot and fresh water for the bathroom and for other uses are lower down gravitationally than the high tower tank, so that we do not need more pumps,” Yuliastuti said.
According to hotel owner Paulus Mintarga, their primary source of water is an old well that still produces good quality of water.
“Before we pump the water into the water tank on the water tower, we first filter the water mechanically,” Paulus said.
The water process ends in a pipe with numerous holes, which is installed horizontally on the hotel’s roof and provides artificial rain.
The watering system is used for the hotel’s hanging garden, which has vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowering plants. “This vertical garden is also good for filtering air, to keep the air clean and fresh,” Yuliastuti said.
Yanto, who has been a regular visitor since the hotel opened less than a year ago, said, “It has a homey atmosphere. The House of Turi feels so comfortable and private.”
Adhianto Wardono, his wife, Eny Nurcholisoh, and their 6-year-old daughter, Amalia Shaffana Adhi, were reluctant to return home after their recent stay. “It’s so quiet in here, and we can have some rest,” Adhianto said.
- Candra Malik, thejakartaglobe.com
