A Full House

Sin City stacks the deck in designers' favor

Craig Kellogg -- Interior Design, 3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Forget the Las Vegas you once knew—a desert town where miles of blinking neons and mirrored ceilings eclipse good taste. Steve Wynn debunked that myth when, as CEO of Mirage, he conceived the design-driven Bellagio restaurants now owned by MGM Mirage. Interiors he commissioned from Tony Chi, Jeffrey Beers, and Adam Tihany have helped those venues become almost as big a crowd-pleaser as the Strip's casinos. Now visitor traffic to Sin City is through the roof (35.5 million, annually), and a spate of new restaurants, hotels, and high-end residences are scrambling to reproduce Wynn's success in using high design to charm the masses. Our own research turned up work by KWID, Vicente Wolf Associates, and Super Potato in addition to firms Wynn has ushered in. Then came news that the überdeveloper is returning to Las Vegas Boulevard next month with the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas—a venture with more than 2,000 rooms, 18 restaurants, and contributions by roughly a dozen interior designers who were personally selected by Wynn. On that occasion, we couldn't resist taking stock of other firms tied to the city's makeover. And of the hundreds of worthy projects we found, we've tried to highlight those with the brightest name-wattage and largest square-footage. Rest assured, those we haven't listed are still on our radar. It's just that, some deals are too new to disclose. This is, after all, a gaming town, and fortunes can change dramatically with a roll of the dice—or an acquisition by MGM Mirage. As long as those high-stake moves yield high style, the smart money is always on design.

[ On the Strip ]

Bellagio*

Olives Restaurant

Who: Jeffrey Beers International (designer); YWS Architects (architect)

When: September 2004

How big: 6,500 square feet, 230 seats

Wow factor: Cast-iron olive-tree sculptures in the dining room.

High-limits lounge

Who: Tihany Design (designer); HLW (architect)

When: May 2005

How big: 2,540 square feet, 50 seats

Wow factor: A mahogany screen with silver leaf finish encloses the entire high roller lounge.

Sensi Restaurant (in the new spa tower)

Who: Super Potato

When: December 2004

How big: 10,225 square feet, 200 seats

Wow factor: The 3,000-square-foot open theater kitchen at the center of the dining room.

MGM Grand*

West Wing (renovation)

Who: Yabu Pushelberg (designer); Marnell Corrao Associates (architect)

When: April 2005

How big: 300,000 square feet, 700 rooms

Wow factor: After creating Shibuya, designers gave guest rooms a sexy makeover, including rust-colored crocodile leather headboards.

Diego Restaurant

Who: Vicente Wolf Associates

When: August 2004

How big: 7,500 square feet, 280 seats

Wow factor: An explosion of 19 different cheery colors—red, orange, pink—on walls, ceilings and furniture.

Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill

Who: Tony Chi and Associates

When: June 2004

How big: 10,000 square feet, 220 seats

Wow factor: Large graphic glass panels surround the dining room.

'Wichcraft Restaurant

Who: Bentel & Bentel Architects/Planners (designer); YWS Architects (architect)

When: July 2004

How big: 1,671 square feet, 42 seats

Wow factor: Casual spinoff of tony Craftsteak, with a 15-foot-long white marble counter for people watching while you nosh.

Teatro Euro Bar

Who: Tihany Design (designer); Leo A Daly (architect)

When: July 2004

How big: 2,850 square feet, 92 seats

Wow factor: Conjures up the feel of a luxury automobile via accents of Ferrari-red leather, polished stainless steel, and walnut burl.

The Mirage*

[ from Tihany Design ]

Carnegie Deli (with Westar Architects), featuring holographic three-dimensional pickles, opened February 2005; Kokomos restaurant (with HLW), showcasing undulating canopies of wengé wood, to open fall 2005; and Cravings buffet (with HLW), which opened last May. It's buffet dining made beautiful with stations clad in zebra wood, bronze, and polished corrugated steel.

Treasure Island*

Tangerine Lounge & Nightclub

Who: Graft (designer); YWS Architects (architect)

When: July 2004

How big: 6,430 square feet, 113 seats

Wow factor: Kitschy world of pirates and sails inspired a fabric-wrapped setting.

[ from Jeffrey Beers International ]

Dishes buffet (with YWS Architects), with four 20-by-10-foot glass walls displaying dried spices, opened December 2004, and Isla Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar (with YWS Architects), which features rose petals embedded resin tabletops, opened June 2004.

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

THEhotel (all-suite tower)

Who: Dougall Design Associates (designer); Klai Juba Architects (architect)

When: December 2003

How big: 1.2 million square feet, 1,112 rooms

Wow factor: Cool black granite interiors, a collection of Richard Serra's etchings, and Alain Ducasse's Mix designed by Patrick Jouin on the top floor.

Bathhouse spa

Who: Richardson Sadeki (designer); Klai Juba Architects (architect)

When: March 2004

How big: 15,000 square feet, 9 treatment areas, 4 private tubs, 5 pools

Wow factor: Grotto-like bathing in a soothing labyrinth of Brazilian slate.

RM Seafood

Who: CCS Architecture (designer/architect)

When: January 2005

How big: 16,000 square feet; 450 seats

Wow factor: The second floor is contained by a mahogany and glass box that juts out into the hotel atrium.

Wynn Las Vegas Resort

Who: Wynn Design & Development (architect/designer); multiple interior designers

When: Spring 2005

How big: 217 acres, 2,716 guest rooms, 18 restaurants, and Wynn's private art collection.

Wow factor: Yabu Pushelberg (La Flirt cosmetics store and Wynn & Company Jewelry); David Ling Architect (Outfit, Shoe-In, Gizmo, Wynn & Company Watches, all high-end boutiques); Robin Kramer (Mojitos Resort Wear clothing store); and ABA Avery Brooks & Associates (Pro Shop golf store and W.ink, a luxury writing instruments and eyewear boutique).

The Venetian

Venezia (all-suite tower)

Who: SFA Design (designer); TSA of Nevada (architect)

When: July 2004

How big: 855,000 square feet, 1,100 rooms

Wow factor: Custom backlit onyx reception desks and an Italian-style garden.

Caesars Palace

Sushi Roku

Who: Dodd Mitchell Design (designer); YWS Architects (architect)

When: October 2004

How big: 7,000 square feet, 315 seats

Wow factor: Pendant fixtures made of teak, bronze, and recycled paper—natural materials to counter the artificial setting outdoors.

Mesa Grill Restaurant

Who: Rockwell Group (designer); KGA Architecture (architect)

When: September 2004

How big: 9,000 square feet, 254 seats

Wow factor: A flame motif is emblazoned everywhere—on doorpulls, the carpet, and in a mural.

[ from ABA Avery Brooks & Associates ]

Pure restaurant's red room ensconced in red-painted walls, red-tile floors, and red leather and velvet seating, opened December 2004; and ChinoisLas Vegas restaurant with its 150-square-foot rock garden, Buddha sculpture, and cascading water opened June 2004.

The Forum Shops

Who: Dougall Design Associates (designer); KGA Architecture (architect)

When: October 2004

How big: 708,000 square feet; over 160 retail stores and restaurants

Wow factor: Six spiraling escalators connecting three levels.

Augustus Tower (hotel addition)

Who: James R. Rimelspach Architects and Wilson & Associates (designer); Bergman, Walls & Associates (architect)

When: August 2005

How big: 1.1 million square feet, 949 rooms

Wow factor: Classic forms in unexpected colors such as chocolate and kiwi.

[ Off the Strip ]

Ice (nightclub)

Who: Thomas Shöner Associates (designer); Jones & Greenwold Architecture & Interiors (architect)

When: August 2003

How big: 20,000 square feet

Wow factor: White faux-fur wall coverings and exterior light wall.

World Market Center (a design center)

Who: The Jerde Partnership (designer/architect); JMA Architecture Studios (executive architect)

When: July 2005 (phase one)

How big: Initially eight floors, 1.3 million square feet (It adds another 7.5 million square feet in phase two)

Wow factor: A campus of design buys with 600 to 700 vendors on two of its eight floors.

Hard Rock Hotel

[ from KWID ]

Body English nightclub (with Klai Juba Architects), with Kelly Wearstler's signature retro-glam details such as an onyx bar, opened August 2004; and Love Jones lingerie shop (with Klai Juba Architects), featuring recurring diamonds, hearts, and clubs on the walls, opened March 2004.

Loft 5

Who: Richard McCann (designer); Jones & Greenwold Architecture & Interiors (architect)

When: September 2005

How big: 700,000 square feet, 272 residences

Wow factor: Two courtyard gardens, four pools, a gym, spa, screening room, and a clean minimalist design for public spaces and lofts that includes Poggenpohl kitchens and Kohler fixtures in all units.

Green Valley Ranch

The Whiskey

Who: Yabu Pushelberg

When: March 2005

How big: 4,800 square feet, 600 capacity

Wow factor: Four-poster beds in each corner of the lounge allow guests to frolic.

[ Coming Attractions ]

City Center

Who: Too soon to name names

When: 2010

How big: 66 acres near the Bellagio, on the Strip Wow factor: A ground-up new-build city within the city, to include three hotels, 550,000 square feet of shopping, and 1,650 condominiums.

Restaurant (unnamed)

Who: Yabu Pushelberg (designer); HLW (architect)

When: November 2005

How big: 2,700 square feet, 92 seats

Wow factor: The dining room's translucent resin spheres.

Trump International Hotel and Tower

Who: Hirsch Bedner Associates (designer); Bergman, Walls & Associates (architect)

When: Fall 2006

How big: 1.9 million square feet, 1,282 rooms

Wow factor: A spa, restaurant, and 64 stories.

The Boulevard Mall (renovation)

Who: Omniplan

When: Late 2005

How big: 1.2 million square feet

Wow factor: New storefronts, improved flow and circulation.

Verandah restaurant (renovation, Four Seasons)

Who: Engstrom Design Group (designer); Klai Juba Architects (architect)

When: October 2004

How big: 5,000 square feet, 239 seats

Wow factor: Dining areas open onto outdoors.

Red Rock Station Resort and Casino

Who: Friedmutter Group (architect/designer)

When: 2006

How big: 70 acres, 400 rooms

Wow factor: 10 restaurants and a 20,000-square-foot spa.

South Coast Hotel & Casino

Who: Yates-Silverman (designer); Klai Juba Architects (architect); Leo A Daly (architect)

When: Spring 2006

How big: 660 rooms

Wow factor: Dramatic vaulted ceiling over the gaming area with chandeliers.

Palazzo Casino Resort (addition at The Venetian)

Who: James R. Rimelspach Architect and Wilson & Associates (architect/designer); HKS (architect)

When: June 2007

How big: 7.4 million square feet, 3,000 suites

Wow factor: The over 20-foot-tall polished stone with bronze fountain in the grand lobby.

The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino (condo-hotel)

Who: Arquitectonica (design architect); Paul Duesing Partners (designer); Dougall Design Associates (designer for casino, retail mall); Friedmutter Group (architect)

When: Early 2008

How big: 4 million square feet, 2,700 rooms (1,700 condos)

Wow factor: 7,000 square foot casino, 300,000 square foot mall, ballrooms, meeting spaces, and 11 restaurants.

Conrad Las Vegas (condo-hotel)

Who: Charles Gruwell Design (designer); Paul Steelman Design Group (architect); Herbert Gordon Press Design Associates (consultant)

When: December 2006

How big: 1.1 million square feet, 378 guest rooms, 286 residences

Wow factor: Monumental lobby chandeliers of fused glass and crystal.

The Residences at MGM Grand (condo-hotel with Turnberry Associates)

Who: SFA Design (designer); Bergman, Walls & Associates (architect)

When: Mid 2006

How big: 630,000 square feet, 576 units

Wow factor: Leather headboards and plasma televisions.

Sky Las Vegas (condos)

Who: Desjardins Design Group (designer); Klai Juba Architects (design architect)

When: Fall 2006

How big: 850,000 square feet, 405 condos

Wow factor: Luxury residential living directly on the Strip.

Panorama Towers (condos)

Who: Graft (designer); Ralph Gentile Architects (designer); Klai Juba Architects (architect); Alamosa Design (consultant)

When: January 2006

How big: 1.8 million square feet, 300 condos per tower

Wow factor: Landscapes in public spaces.

Turnberry Place and Turnberry Towers (condos)

Who: Fine Decorators (designer); Robert M. Swedroe Architects & Planners (architect)

When: In 2006 and 2007

How big: 480,000 square feet, 231 units for Turnberry Place's fourth tower; 810,000 square feet, 632 units for the Towers

Wow factor: Permanent high-end residences.

Planet Hollywood resort & casino (redesign, expansion, and rebranding of the Aladdin Resort & Casino)

Who: Dougall Design Associates (designer for public spaces); Klai Juba Architects (design architect)

When: Fall 2006

How big: 1.5 million square feet, 4,700 rooms

Wow factor: Total remake of the Aladdin's 1001 Arabian Nights motif, including reworking the facade and adding a hotel tower, 20,000-square-foot spa, and 75,000-square-foot convention center.