Voco Zeal Hotel Exeter

The façade system was treated as a core material proposition rather than a renewable add-on. Modular panel sizes align with the structural grid and fenestration rhythm to maintain elegance and coherence across the elevations. This project demonstrates how hospitality architecture can simultaneously meet premium design expectations and advanced sustainability benchmarks. For design teams working on retrofit or new-build in the UK (or elsewhere), it provides a reference model: a façade that is expressive, high-performance and integrated; a building services strategy that is fossil-fuel-free and energy-generative; and a construction and operation model that has already earned top industry awards. The Voco Zeal Hotel Exeter shows that material refinement, architectural ambition and carbon-responsible delivery need not be traded off.

Project Achievements

The project achieved a BREEAM Outstanding rating in design stage (89.2 %) and final submitted score ~87.5 %. Embodied carbon reduced ~46% compared with a benchmark new-build hotel.

Achievements

Winner of the BREEAM Awards 2025 - Best New Construction/Commercial Project.

Winner of the Michelmores Property Awards 2025 - Leisure & Tourism Project of the Year.

Winner of the edie Net Zero Awards 2025 - Green Building Project of the Year.

Awarded the Green Tourism Gold accreditation (highest level) in the UK hospitality / tourism sustainability certification scheme.