DESIGNED BY: Carpenter Sellers Architects LOOKS LIKE: A giant, unfolded steel fan embedded in the side of a showroom
Arlen Ness Motorcycles’ building is a custom job, too.
Design outside the box
Architect and urban planner Robert Fielden’s favorite urban spaces in Southern Nevada The Lewis Avenue Corridor One of the few pedestrian-friendly public spaces in Las Vegas. Great urban spaces like this provide ample shade, seating and tables for playing checkers and chess. Hills Center Drive from West Lake Mead Boulevard to the roundabout on Town Center Drive The landscaping and human scale of this segment of the travel corridor makes for an almost perfect pedestrian environment. Only pieces missing: seating and tables for neighbors to sit and chat. Desert gardens at the Springs Preserve A series of great “knowledge” spaces that prove how lush the desert can be, and how pleasant being out-of-doors is when surrounded by a drought-tolerant landscape receiving lots of love and attention. 38
Desert Companion
MARCH//APRIL 2010
Downtown Boulder City An excellent example of integrating scale, traffic and pedestrian-friendly activity. This project reinvests in downtown businesses and new infrastructure, including an urban forestry program and public art. Thanks to ample shade, dining outside in Boulder City is has caught on downtown. Civic Center Plaza at Henderson City Hall The valley’s best gathering space. The plaza is home to a farmers’ market every Thursday through the year. But even without an event, the plaza exhibits a distinct, high-quality architectural character through the design, articulation and details the space contains.
Clark County Government Center Amphitheater This is a tremendous community asset within the heart of the central city — and its only truly green space downtown. When it’s filled for evening performances, it’s hard to dispute the appreciation attendees have for community-wide, open events. Clark County Government Center Rotunda If not for the large expanse of west-facing glass and the energy drain it creates, the rotunda of the Clark County Government Center would be the best interior space in the valley. It exudes a powerful sense of civic pride. That said, the only other truly great interior space I know is the Bellagio Conservatory. Its highest value: It has no principal purpose other than offering beauty to visitors from across the world.