Lighting & Automation by :
Lutron
The 5 Star VP Plaza España Design Hotel is an icon of design, art, and architecture in Madrid. The hotel has 214 rooms on a total of 17 floors and 102 underground parking spaces. One of the main differential elements of VP Plaza España Design 5, is the commitment made by the company to create a design that visitors can perceive. The architecture of the building, the aesthetics of the furniture, the materials, chromatic line, and other decorative elements or works of art displayed across the common areas to each room, reflect the dedication by the company. The spacious parking facilities are unique in their design and offer charging points for all types of electric vehicles.
The Client’s Vision
The design objectives for the VP Plaza España Design (VP) were ambitious and clear. It is set in the most elite real estate in Madrid, to create a lavish & sustainable five-star hotel.
“We wanted to create an innovative luxury hotel that would comply with the highest standards of quality as they relate to both guest experience and sustainability,” said Laura Granados, Marketing Director for VP Hotels.
The Scope of Work
Lighting design plays a critical role in defining both the guest experience and building performance. This project demanded a lighting control solution that delivers next-level functionality while being intuitive for guests and hotel personnel to use.
Maurici Ginés, the Lighting Designer of VP’s guestrooms, said Lutron was the obvious choice. “We chose Lutron for the quality guarantee, the beauty and intuitive nature of its keypads, and also because it offers a high-quality product for a very reasonable price,” he says.
The complete lighting control solution structured for the VP consists of Lutron systems, offering complete control of the guestroom’s environment and public use spaces throughout the property.
Automations Integrated
The lighting experience in the guestrooms, meeting rooms, restaurants, and other areas of the building needs to help differentiate the VP from other top-tier Madrid hotels.
To achieve this, a highly integrated solution coordinates the lighting system with shades and temperature control in guestrooms; manages lighting and AV layouts in partitionable meeting spaces; and communicates with the DMX-controlled dynamic façade, among other things.
The project also demanded guestroom keypads that are intuitive and beautiful. Guests from anywhere in the world need to be able to understand and operate them without deliberation, and, aesthetically, the controls must compliment the stunning interior décor. The myRoom Plus solution, which was selected by Ginés, provides a combined control of guestroom lights, shades, and temperature. Guests can access all the room’s features from the Palladiom keypads in their rooms.
“The pictogram component of these controls is very well done and easy to understand,” Ginés added, “It is clear that Lutron has been creating solutions for the hotel industry for a long time.”
The hotel staff has remote access to the lights, shades, and HVAC in all guestrooms. They use this to activate a welcome setting during check-in, so guests enter well-lit rooms with open shades revealing those coveted views of Madrid.
This is a perfect example of how enhanced and timely control delivers a heightened experience, without energy waste.
Diego Gronda, who oversaw interior design for the hotel’s award-winning Ginkpo Restaurant and Sky Bar said, “I believe that the system has two fundamental advantages. The first is the technical
sophistication, which allows for the dimming of light levels below 1%. It helps us, especially in an intimate atmosphere at sunset or night — to achieve the exact level of lighting we want. The second advantage is that. in spite of its complexity, it’s still a system that’s simple to use,” he says. “It’s an intuitive tool.”
Ms. Granados agreed. “The lighting plays an important role in the common areas, meeting rooms, events spaces, and, of course, the guestrooms. There are more than 50 different settings and our
personnel can control the entire lighting system of the hotel from an iPad. It is very easy to use.”
Since integration is also an aspect of the lighting control system in this sustainability-focused, five-star hotel. The Quantum system integrates the lighting and automated shading control with other hotel systems, such as the audio and visual systems used in the large partitionable meeting space and the DMX-controlled dynamic facade.
“Seamless integration across the different technology and all of the system touchpoints was an important piece in providing the state-of-the-art experience expected by the owners. architects, and guests,” said Alberto Poza from Global TV, Lutron’s Madrid-based Hotel Technology Integrator (HTI) for the project.
Challenges Faced
While the goals of extravagance and efficiency may seem to be in competition, lighting controls can satisfy both. Earning the five-star distinction demands that a property provide a guest experience that meets or exceeds the highest expectations for comfort, décor, and luxury. The sustainability criteria, on the other hand, required the careful allotment of resources and a strategy for minimal impact. Sophisticated lighting control systems can simultaneously impress and cut waste by giving users the exact level of lighting they want, precisely where they want it. Five-star spaces demand five-star functionality.
Lutron’s team met the client to analyze their needs and identify the best solutions to meet their project objectives and budgets. Lutron’s services and support team is fully committed to supporting every project from initial design through occupancy and beyond. The whole process of design and specification is further simplified by Lutron’s free designing software offered to designers, contractors, and other commercial building professionals.
The software assists in designing Lutron lighting control systems and generating comprehensive system design documentation (e.g. Bill of Material, One-line Diagram, and Sequence of Operations).
Their project management teams provide conceptual and detailed proposals on light control solutions, they also participate in job coordination meetings on light control solutions.
Lutron has a LED Control Center of Excellence as a comprehensive source for all things related to LED, from LED/lighting control compatibility, to fixture selection and solutions. Lutron Field Service Engineers can provide onsite system start-up and commissioning, plus 24/7 multilingual technical support via customer hotline. They even offer comprehensive maintenance services and training to provide ongoing support and software updates throughout the lifecycle of our systems.
Eventual Outcomes
Since its opening in March 2018, this flagship, five-star property from VP Hotels has earned several notable awards. The 2018 Spain Luxury Hotel Awards recognized VP as the Best Luxury Business Hotel and it was also awarded the 2018 XII Roca Awards for Hotel Initiative in the Architecture and Urban Hotel categories. It’s Ginkgo Restaurant & Sky Bar won the popular vote in Gatoterrazas 2019.
The VP project also earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold-level certification, making it one of the first hotels in Spain to receive this distinction in sustainable design.
Lutron helped make all this possible, said Granados. “We have a first-class lighting system, which differentiates us significantly from other hotels —and helped us get LEED Gold certification. We are delighted with the results,” she added. “We have not found any company that combines design, innovation, and quality in the way that Lutron does.”
Client’s Feedback
“We are delighted with the result. We haven’t found any company that combines design, innovation, and quality in the way that Lutron does.” —Laura Granados, Marketing Director for VP Hotels
Lutron had a good experience and customer feedback in this project. The hotel operators and designers were satisfied with their guaranteed high quality, the beauty and intuitive nature of their keypads, and the outstanding performance of our solutions at a very reasonable price.
Final Takeaway
The final result of the project, is a sophisticated level of performance that meets stringent sustainability targets in a controls package that is surprisingly simple to use. The Lutron team’s final takeaway from this project is that it’s very important as always to understand the client’s needs and assist them in overcoming the obstacles in the whole project cycle. Their project management team helped the client navigate the project from start to finish and provided global support. The final takeaway, which is also the first company principle is to take care of the customer with superior goods and services.
