“Mother nature” grants you a good night’s sleep
Nothing is as restful as a night in which you’ve slept well. The right room climate is important in making this possible. Building engineering physics, the science behind a good room climate, is complex. The good news for you is that to achieve a healthful indoor climate, nothing high-tech is required. Simply rely on the tried and tested knowledge of traditional timber and clay-earth building methods – and their contemporary implementation.
At the Sleep Wood Hotel in Eupen, Belgium, built from wood and clay earth, you will get a good night’s sleep, nodding off in a balanced room climate with the scent of wood wafting through the air. The combination of wood and clay-earth construction is also responsible for this.
Natural building materials for a healthy indoor climate
A room temperature of 18 degrees and 40-60 percent humidity are the ideal parameters for a good night’s sleep. This delicate balance can be difficult to maintain. If you share the same room with several people, or if steam from the shower enters the room, the humidity increases. In the long term, this can even lead to mould and impair good health.
In the Sleep Wood Hotel, the walls of the rooms are made of wood and clay earth. These natural building materials regulate the humidity by absorbing excess water from the air and releasing it when air humidity drops. Sounds high-tech – but it’s a natural process.
The room temperature is regulated by a wall heating system embedded in the clay plaster. Due to its high thermal mass, clay earth is a good store of heat and pairs wonderfully with the in-wall heating system, evenly distributing the radiant heat. This also has a positive effect on your well-being.
Ecological architecture protects the environment
The hotel was built with Holz100 wood, supplied by Thoma Holz. The solid wood house was built by the pioneer for ecological building in Belgium, construction joinery firm DRUWID Michael Thönnes. The philosophy behind the wooden house: If used correctly, Wood, as a building material, is the natural answer to the pressing challenges facing builders today. The same goes for modern clay-earth building.
The operation of the hotel is also guided by ecological principles. A water pump system heats the rooms in winter and cools them in the summer. This system is able to reduce the room temperature by up to 5°C. This is only possible due to the clay plaster which prevents humidity from condensing on walls as they are cooled.
Sleep Wood owner Arthur Genten, hopes that by experiencing an environmentally consciously built and operated hotel, his guests will gain an appreciation for this type of construction and lifestyle, and perhaps replicate it at home.
You can also experience a connection with nature in the timeless furnishings of the hotel. Tree trunks serve as pedestals for the sinks, a specially shaped root becomes a sculpture and the reception counter is made of clay earth.
If you are looking for nature outside the hotel, we recommend a trip to the nearby High Fens. After all, a long walk on the high plateau between the Eifel and the Ardennes also helps create the best conditions for healthy sleep.
Read more »Claytec building materials: Low-tech for a healthy, feel-good atmosphere
The Sleep Wood hotel lives up to its name with the use of resource-saving home technology and the use of the natural building materials wood and clay earth. The wall surfaces of the rooms are made of wood and Claytec clay plaster. The thick-layer clay plaster is ideal in combination with in-wall heating – both for the installation and operation. As a good heat store, clay earth radiates heat evenly throughout the room. The topcoat for the plastered areas is YOSIMA designer clay plaster in white. Mother-of-pearl as an addition creates a fine shimmer and an exciting contrast to the wood elements in the rooms.
Clay plaster with integrated wall heating and cooling also ensures pleasant temperatures in the restaurant and in the hotel common spaces. For the wall surfaces in these spaces, straw was added to the YOSIMA topcoat, which underlines the hotel’s natural ambiance.
This ambiance begins as soon as you enter the hotel and are greeted by a counter made of natural clay earth that has been applied over wooden wickerwork. Here clay earth was used artistically and decoratively. In the restaurant, too, a decorative wall made of rammed earth blocks creates a warm backdrop for diners to enjoy their meal.
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Free Extras, like use of an E-Bike or a Picnic for your hiking excursion
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