Green Design Techniques for Casinos

Sustainability and profitability have been seen for a long time as mutually exclusive by many business owners, including casino operators, but lately it seems that many have realized that sustainability actually supports business success.

Considering casinos are usually very large buildings with high energy needs, they are a good point to start for sustainable design initiatives in the gambling industry. Especially since it has been noticed that patrons appreciate staying and spending time at green and sustainable destinations and they are more likely to come back to casinos that respect the environment.

As such, lately new constructions designed to house casinos are built to minimize their environment impact, and renovations of existing casinos are also made with sustainability in mind. Below we detail some of the green design techniques that are being employed in casino construction.

Careful material selection

The use of high-quality materials and products that resist wear and damage can have a great impact on sustainable building construction as they help reduce resource consumption. If quality products are used, they won’t need to be replaced or repaired too often.

Improved on-site maintenance, green material acquisition and landfill avoidance are good practices that can greatly transform how casinos are being built today.

Minimizing the amount of waste

Reducing the amount of waste to be taken away and disposed at landfills has recently become more easily achievable for contractors thanks to the fact that haulers are now handling materials in a single container, which makes a huge difference because space is very important at construction sites. Haulers use pickers to separate trash, and some materials are even recycled on site.

Energy conservation

Casinos are known to require a huge amount of energy to operate. As any gambler would know, a typical casino is basically a box with no windows, isolated from the outside air and light. This enclosed design means that the building is dependent on its mechanical systems for lighting and heating-ventilation demands, so the casino floors are usually very demanding energy-wise.

To reduce energy consumption, there are some techniques contractors have begun to use in their projects: incorporating natural light into the gaming areas of casinos, the employment of a combined heat-and-power system, energy-efficient gaming systems and machines,

streamlined access flooring, the use of fiber optics and LEDs (light emitting diodes).

Water conservation

Water conservation in casino design can be achieved through the installation of low-flow and water-efficient plumbing fixtures, leak detection and repair programs, water-efficient irrigation systems, and recycling gray water for irrigation and landscaping.

IoT automated building systems

Given that we live in the internet era, the integration of the internet of things (IoT) into a building, regardless of its final purpose, is a good idea in terms of sustainable design. IoT gives casino operators access to data they did not have access to before and thus improve the sustainability of operations. For instance, small connected sensors can be integrated with the automated building systems to adjust the ventilation and lighting levels inside the building according to current needs, based on weather, CO2 and temperature.

Finally, we should highlight that sustainability doesn’t have to end once the construction process is over, but it should extend throughout the lifecycle of the casino through environmentally friendly operations. A sustainable resort experience is greatly appreciated by customers.