Las Vegas Resort Casino Designed by Cesar Pelli Includes Public Fine Art Program

Written by Donna Alarcon Friday, 10 June 2011 19:27

LAS VEGAS - CityCenter has revealed that its stunning resort casino, scheduled to open in late 2009, will be named ARIA. With an unprecedented combination of striking architecture, sustainable design, high-end service and spectacular amenities, ARIA Resort & Casino will immediately become the focal point not only of the Las Vegas skyline but of the hospitality industry. Designed by the world-renowned firm Pelli Clarke Pelli, ARIA’s architectural expression will reveal itself at every turn, from its two breathtaking curvilinear glass towers to the clean use of natural elements including lush foliage, wood and stone.  Art and interior design will envelop guests in warm, comforting surroundings and provide a sense of human scale.

The contemporary architecture of the ARIA tower will be complemented by the resort’s lavish accommodations. ARIA’s 4,004 guest rooms, including 568 suites, will incorporate integrated technologies never before used in the hospitality industry. Guest room corridors streaming with natural light will open to areas of enclosed glass, delivering spectacular city or mountain views. Guests also can enjoy these breathtaking panoramas from the privacy of their rooms; all will feature expansive floor-to-ceiling windows. ARIA’s modern tower is uniquely designed to deliver corner-window views from every guest room.

Throughout CityCenter’s grounds, visitors will enjoy access to an extensive $40 million public Fine Art Program encompassing a multitude of styles and media – ranging from sculptures and paintings to large-scale installations – engaging visitors on both a visual and intellectual level. The CityCenter Fine Art Program is designed to become a benchmark for enlightened corporate involvement with the arts on a global level and will be one of the world’s largest and most ambitious corporate art programs.

One of the program’s highlights will be featured within ARIA’s reception area. Famed artist Maya Lin is creating an approximately 133-foot silver cast of the Colorado River, which will be her first work of art displayed in Las Vegas. Lin is incorporating reclaimed silver in the spirit of CityCenter’s commitment to sustainability and in light of Nevada’s standing as the “Silver State.”

The work of Jenny Holzer will be on display as guests approach the resort’s north valet, where they will be welcomed by one of the artist’s insightful LED signs spanning more than 250 feet. Additional artists represented in the Fine Art Program will include Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Frank Stella, Henry Moore and Richard Long, among others. CityCenter will feature prominent works from some of the world’s most influential artists:

Nancy Rubins – A sculptor and artisan famous for her grandiose works created from salvaged and industrial consumer goods, Nancy Rubins will create one of the most visually stunning commissions at CityCenter with a larger scale version of her famous installation: Big Pleasure Point. Measuring approximately 50 feet tall and 80 feet long, Rubins’ work of art at CityCenter will be a colorful composition. Rubins has designed amazing works of art from mattresses, trailers, hot water heaters, airplanes and small appliances since the 1970s. For more than 25 years, Rubins has exhibited extensively around the world in major solo and group exhibitions.

Richard Long – Veer Towers will feature two large-scale commissioned works by Richard Long. Entitled Circle of Life and Earth, Long’s two mud wall drawings will measure 80 feet high x 50 feet wide each and be displayed on Veer’s west and east tower walls, respectively. An English sculptor, photographer and painter, Long is one of the best-known British land and conceptual artists.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen –Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas will feature Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, 1998-1999, an iconic piece by Oldenburg and van Bruggen. Designed with the pair’s classic approach to creating large-scale outdoor sculptures of popular commercial objects, the five-ton, 19-foot stainless steel and fiberglass sculpture depicts a giant blue and red typewriter eraser with the bristles of the brush turned upward in a graceful, dynamic gesture. Scale X is the largest of three sculptures created of the form, beginning in the 1970s. Oldenburg and van Bruggen have collaborated on more than 40 monumental projects throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. Their most recent work is the 144-foot-long, 64-foot-high Cupid's Span for Rincon Park on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

Frank Stella – For the reception desk at CityCenter’s Vdara Condo Hotel, MGM MIRAGE has purchased one of artist Frank Stella’s most prominent works. Damascus Gate Variation I, created in 1969, features a design of interlaced semicircles made of fluorescent alkyd resin on a 96 x 384 inch shaped canvas. Recognized for more than 45 years for his contributions to the forms of Abstract Expressionism, sculpture and the concept of the shaped canvas.

Henry Moore - On the exterior of ARIA, guests will find Reclining Connected Forms, 1969-1974, a sculpture by Henry Moore inspired by the fundamentals of the human experience – the primary theme of his life’s work. Measuring 10.17 x 17 x 7.70 feet, the abstract work of art displays a baby wrapped in its mother’s embrace. The graceful outer shell of the sculpture depicts the changing shape of a pregnant figure as it protects the new life growing within.

 The project began with a master plan developed by New York’s Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut and Kuhn Architects (EEK) for a high-density destination with interesting places and experiences, smooth public circulation and regard for its surroundings. To realize this plan, MGM MIRAGE executives traveled the world and met with numerous architects to review their work and understand their approach. When the search concluded, MGM MIRAGE had assembled a dream team of the world’s foremost architects and two of the country’s foremost builders, Perini Building Company and Tishman Construction, to begin the ambitious 20-month design phase.

In creating this soaring 57-story condo hotel deep within CityCenter, RV Architecture used a disciplined design approach to remarkable effect. Vdara’s distinctive crescent shape and unique skin of patterned glass will create one of the most provocative design statements in Las Vegas. Located between two of the world’s finest casinos, Bellagio and CityCenter’s gaming resort, Vdara’s approximately 1,495 residences will feature open floor plans and horizontal windows delivering expansive views of the city and mountains.

New York’s Studio Daniel Libeskind2 is the exterior architect of The Crystals, a faceted-roof retail and entertainment district at the heart of CityCenter. The Crystals will be an international gathering place and premier shopping destination combining art, design and experience. Libeskind became a household name in 2003 when he won the World Trade Center competition and was named master plan architect for the site. Other celebrated works include the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building. 

Soaring to 61 stories, ARIA was designed by the New Haven, Connecticut firm of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Pelli Clarke Pelli has created four of the world’s largest private developments: World Financial Center, New York; Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Malaysia; Canary Wharf, London; International Finance Center, Hong Kong.

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