This revived architectural landmark could be the first net-zero hotel in the US
Bruce Becker has spent nearly his entire adult life designing buildings – 33 years to be exact.For the 62-year-old architect and developer, one building in particular has consumed his time for the past few years. In 2019, Becker's firm, Becker + Becker, bought a local landmark and registered Historic Place in New Haven, Connecticut, for $1.2 million to realize his vision of a net-zero hotel – believed to be the first of its kind in the US."You have to reuse, recycle and reinvent existing buildings to be truly sustainable," Becker says.
"The culture we have of tearing down and building new is really inefficient, and particularly when you have a building like (this one) which has such a great structure and that's built to last for another century, not to repurpose it would have been a real shame."The building will become a 165-room Hilton-branded property called Hotel Marcel. According to Becker, the entire premises will run independent of fossil fuel and be powered by energy generated onsite, primarily from solar panels that cover both the hotel rooftop and parking lot.
