DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR AN APARTMENT HOTEL, ABUJA. (THE USE OF PASSIVE SOLAR DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE ENERGY MANAGEMENT).

Abstract

Apartment Hotel provides fully furnished, self-catering accommodation units that are deliberately designed to have a hotel setting for the convenience of users outside their homes. It is basically designed to accommodate business people, tourists, people or families on relocation, or renovation of their homes, who need the comfort of a hotel in a home environment. Like every other industry, suitable location of Apartment Hotel is determined by the interplay of the economic forces of demand and supply. This means that the success of any Apartment Hotel as a hospitality business depends on the economic factors taken into consideration in its viability and feasibility studies prior to the final choice of site. Hence, the location of the proposed Apartment Hotel in Asokoro, Abuja, was done after a careful study of modern city development patterns. Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria, the centre of political, business, tourism and various international meetings. These activities engender daily influx of people into the city who often need lodging for the period of their stay in the city. Thus, a ready market exists for the proposed project. In tropical climates like Abuja, energy costs is a significant factor in the profitability of a hospitality business where air conditioning is a major determinant of comfort level of the accommodation provided. As a result, this study includes the use of Passive Solar Design Principles in hotel design as a means of reducing the running cost of energy in a hotel while supporting a sustainable ecosystem and preventing Global Warming.