Custom bikes, custom building
A rlen N ess M otorcycles and O rigen R otunda : C H R I S T O P H E R S M I T H
Arlen Ness Motorcycles of Las Vegas 4020 Boulder Highway Arlen Ness Motorcycles houses some gorgeous machinery in its more than 17,000 square feet of space, but the peacock element of the building’s architecture is a custom steel canopy that turns the showroom into a roadside attraction. The canopy resembles a huge, open hand fan that unfolds around the southeast side of the building, protecting the custom motorcycles and scooters from the elements while creating an iconic structure. At night, the canopy reflects the glossy paint jobs of the merchandise and neon accents on the exterior. Owner Dee Barnes wasn’t sure what he wanted when he connected with Carpenter Sellers Architects. The location was an in-fill site across from Boulder Station, and Barnes was toying with the idea of a prefab building. “But they wanted something interesting,” says Rick Sellers, principal/vice-president of Carpenter Sellers Associates. “They wanted to give it a decent face. One of the goals was to grab attention with the façade even though it was across from the casino.” They also wanted to accentuate the bikes rather than compete with them. The idea of the building as custom bike, a basic framework that is chopped and cut until it becomes a personal statement, began to fuel the discussions. They worked with galvalume, sheet steel coated with an aluminum-zinc alloy, for the canopy which attracts attention and draws it to the bikes below. Randomly angled mullions in the windows signify motion and the freedom to ride anywhere. “So the building came to reflect what these custom bikes are all about,” says Sellers. “Accentuating them, complementing them, not taking away from them but enhancing this notion of freedom and the open road.” — M.K.
Bask in civic pride at the Clark County Government Center Rotunda.
The ORIGEN Rotunda wants you to get lost — in a good way.
Structure au natural ORIGEN Experience Building Inside Springs Preserve The ORIGEN Experience building at Springs Preserve is bogglingly green, sustainable and LEED-certified — from its renewable energy systems to its recycled building materials. But perhaps this is its most charming note of environmental sensitivity: no lights point skyward. That is, in one of the most photon-intensive cityscapes in the word, this building still worries about light pollution. Makes sense. This structure is all about nature, from its mission (“The main concept is water,” says project architect Deepika Padam; it sits on the site of the valley’s natural springs) to its rounded architecture, inspired by the creeks and ravines on the 180-acre site. “Nature has a natural way of curving,” Padam says, “and we wanted to maintain that experience.” Natural, too, is the way the 53,000-square-foot exhibit building is arranged. From a striking main rotunda, the galleries radiate in spokes, filled with interpretive displays about the springs, water use and the site’s archaeology. “It’s meant for you to meander,” Padam says. “To get lost and find different ways to get out. It’s a playful experience.” Befitting the austerity of the desert, the architecture minimizes waste. DESIGNED BY: “All the materials used have recycled Tate Snyder Kimsey elements,” Padam says. She can lay on GREEN CRED: the numbers, too: It’s 85 percent dayIt earned a rare LEED lighted, generates 18 percent of its own Platinum rating. energy and 16 percent of the materiNOT TO MENTION: als come from local sources. “It’s very The facility reuses 100 earthy,” she adds. “In the choices of percent of its water. material, we wanted to speak desert.” Very eloquently, as it turns out. — S.D. MARCH//APRIL 2010
Desert Companion
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