11 minute read
An Environment as Entertainment
At the Monumental Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Lighting and Architecture Create Visual Drama on a Grand Scale
By Vilma Barr
Photos: Fontainebleau Las Vegas, courtesy of participating designers; Oceans, courtesy of BREAKFAST
The profile of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas reveals a towering glass-enclosed mega-hospitality facility. Opened December 8, 2023, the 68-story hotel, containing 3,644 guest rooms, stands as the tallest building in Nevada.
Originally announced in 2005, construction actually began in February 2007. In the 16 intervening years, different ownerships and developers came and went, initiating projects like the El Rancho Hotel and Casino and the Algiers, followed by an extended period of complete shutdown.
Currently owned by Fontainebleau Development and Koch Real Estate Investments, Fontainebleau Las Vegas was developed at a cost of $3.7 billion. It takes advantage of its 24.5-acre site at 2777 South Las Vegas Blvd., anchoring the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall, by offering more than 550,000 sq. ft. of its own meeting space.
A total of 36 restaurants and bars will ultimately be operating, some available 24/7, to serve guests. Promenade is the featured food hall for casual fare.
History, Challenges, Imagination, and Innovation
Fontainebleau Las Vegas is the latter day theme interpretation of the original Fontainebleau Miami Beach that came onto the Florida resort scene 70 years ago to set a gold standard for luxury hotels. Described as “swanky” by the media of the era, it was designed by architect Morris Lapidus with a sweeping curvilinear façade. Lapidus, recognized by his signature bow tie that has since become the establishment’s logo, was cited as having designed his work as theater, functioning as “an architecture of joy.” Located on a 20acre Atlantic oceanfront site, it now has a total of 1,500 guestrooms following an extensive upgrade completed in 2008.
For Fontainebleau Las Vegas, CEO Jeffrey Soffer and Development Director Brett Mufson set about creating an experience that would transport guests and visitors from the city’s non-stop glitz into a lively and tasteful environment. The design brief’s message was to impart to each interior surroundings that would encourage users to feel comfortable, encapsulated by a distinctive environment.
Interior Light Transitions
“Accessible sophistication” was a mutual theme for the designers who applied their talents to the dining and public spaces for which they were responsible. Guiding guests and visitors within the various venues at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas was coordinated by the teams for spatial relationships, color selection, materials, and details for the layers of different lighting applications.
There was agreement among the design team members that they were challenged to find ways to bring intimacy and scale that would feel appropriate to a major hospitality facility of this size. All three of the project’s major design firms have extensive experience in the international hospitality market.
The planning of the artificial lighting took into consideration the brightness of the daylight in the desert, the transition from the lobby to the guest rooms and activity centers, and the lighting needs for the dining areas throughout the day and evening.
“The spaces for dining at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas can be sleek, colorful, and fun, depending on the emphasis that distinguishes their theme,” commented the project director for one of the participating architectural firms. “We received excellent support directly from the hotel’s top management during the design development stage for the lighting,” the architect pointed out.
Members of the facility’s technical and procurement staffs handled the organization of specifications and product ordering facility-wide for the design teams.
Color temperature for ambient light ranges from 2400K to 3000K. For decorative fixtures, the range is 2200K to 2400K. CRI for the restaurants described here is a minimum of 90. Controls for light levels in public spaces and dining areas are established by the owners’ programmers to establish day, evening, and nighttime illumination levels.
Highlights of Distinctive Restaurants at Fontainebleau Las Vegas
designing lighting (dl) contacted members of the design teams that created the individual dimensional personalities of five Fontainebleau Las Vegas restaurants. Each facility balances scale, textures, patterns, and lighting to visually communicate with the user and to achieve the owners’ objectives for memorable contributions to the facility’s overall image.
Hotel Lobby
Guests and visitors are first introduced to the mega scale of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, featuring a 20,000 sq.ft. lobby, including a 5,000 sq.ft. VIP registration area, a casino that spans more than 150,000 sq.ft., with 42-foot ceilings, 1,300 slot machines and 128 table games. Adjacent to the lobby is the Tavern.
The Tavern/Sportsbook
This large and energetic space offers a place to meet up with friends, catch a game, place a bet, plus eat and drink in a prime location. Each seat has a clear view of one or more screens. The vibe is both upscale and relaxed, with warm wood, velvet and leather.
Old-style chalkboards add to the mix of the high-tech and the traditional.
A variety of distinctive lighting fixtures were utilized to graze, highlight, and wash architectural features, enhance wayfinding, and create transitions between seating areas, betting areas, and the bar. Lighting is integrated into the architectural elements to conceal sources from direct view, mitigating glare in the many screens throughout. Rich features and textures are accented with light to create a dramatic venue with the feel of privacy. The dimming system precisely dials in levels required to enhance and create balance, while differentiating spaces and providing necessary contrast ratios and required footcandles.
Guests entering the Tavern experience darker finishes and lower light levels than in the adjacent casino space. Black track and heads are integrated into the lower black grid ceiling to provide soft illumination, while direct view LED sources accent the decoration with wall mount sconces.
Curved wood ceiling panels accented with cove lighting at the top and bottom draw the eye upward. At the wood grid ceiling above the bar are linear LED cove fixtures mounted to the top of the back bar structure. Linear bendable direct view lighting mounted under the bar top at guest side wash the bar die wall. The same fixture on the task side of the bar contributes to achieving code required light levels without creating an over lit bar and potential glare on bar top gaming. At the back bar, integrated linear lighting in bottle risers uplight bottled spirits. LED edge lit light pads and linear tape are integrated into back bar millwork.
Ambient illumination and table lighting within the bar space is achieved through recessed adjustable downlights in lower ceilings, and black finish cylinder downlights are mounted above the wood grid ceiling. Decorative sconces on columns and large decorative pendants lamped with 2700K, 90 CRI LED dimmable lamps provide direct view sparkle in the space. Recessed adjustable downlights at the betting counter and self-service machines provide wayfinding in addition to appropriate task lighting.
Komodo
Blurring the line between restaurant, club, and theater, the Southeast Asian-inspired restaurant Komodo serves creative fare in a lush, tropical oasis setting. Sculptured trees and leaves mix with wall murals showing oversize depictions of colorful flora.
The tri-level illuminated suspended structure that floats above the bar is the room’s focal point. Linear light ribbons follow its circular contours, with downlights on the bottom ring. Color is added by concealed green lights beneath the bar.
KYU
The bar at KYU is identified with slender metal shade ceiling-hung fixtures that follow the white angular shape of the white-topped counter. They contrast in form and primary material with the natural slated wood dropped ceiling.
La Fontaine
An elegant fine-dining destination specializing in French cuisine, La Fontaine can seat up to 158 in the main dining room. Each chandelier is surrounded by an illuminated recessed circle. Banquettes are accented by lighting in overhead arches on one side of the dining area, and by colored panels suspended from an illuminated ceiling band.
Papi Steak
Interior and lighting design for Papi Steak is multi-layered, from ceiling to table tops. The designers established intricate relationships with drapery, reflective surfaces, and a rich palette of saturated jewel tones accented with crystal, metal, and smoked mirrors.
A dramatic central lighting element is created by crystal strands within light-articulated circles. Above the booths are suspended illuminated wagon-wheel fixtures. A narrow wavy blue cord of light traces along panels that depict oversized flowers.
Promenade
Developers of Fontainebleau Las Vegas wanted a food hall reminiscent of a European piazza with cuisines from different parts of the world, rather than a quick grab-and-go stop. The 24-hour offerings include everything from a morning coffee and croissant to a full gourmet meal. The color scheme is a mix of blue, gray, and white with stone and metal accents and floor with mosaic motifs.
The curved illuminated ceiling design that is created by cove fixtures creates continuity to the dining areas. Brightness is programmed to transition from a daytime to an evening atmosphere.
Bleau Bar
Designers pulled out all the stops to create the Bleau Bar on the casino floor. Colleen Birch, COO of the Fontainebleau, commented to a group of press she was hosting when they entered the Bleau Bar, “I am reminded of a Lapidus quote: ‘If you create the stage setting and it is grand, everyone who enters will play their part.’"
Soaring ceilings are a backdrop for a chandelier of sinuous groups of dense interlocking crystal strands that are lit from above. Full-height columns contribute to the grandeur of the space.
Azul
Classic themes credited to architect Morris Lapidus of Fontainebleau Miami blend with contemporary Mexican styling in this elegant, streamlined, and eclectic bar and lounge bathed in blue jewel tones and rich desert sunset hues. “Azul is like an intricate jewel-box-like glow from inside,” observed a member of the space’s design team.
Groups of three back-lit openings introduce a classic ambiance. Shelves display bottles of wine and spirits. The top of the bar structure is highlighted with extended circular fixtures. Blue streaks of light at the ceiling add dimension to the setting.
Oceans, Interactive Kinetic Art
"Art, architecture and design are key components of our Fontainebleau culture and guest experience," Fontainebleau Development Director Brett Mufson said at the facility’s December opening. "The caliber of artists that we have collaborated with to create never-before-seen pieces is exquisite.”
The largest of the works is Oceans, located in the lobby at the southwest entrance, a freestanding interactive kinetic art sculpture designed and fabricated by Brooklyn-based BREAKFAST Studio, led by its founder, artist Andrew Zolty.
“The sculpture's curve mimics the shape of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, while its marble and brass-tinted stainless steel are inspired by the design ethos of the iconic 1950s property,” said Zolty. “Oceans combines art, technology, and the environment.”
Measuring 45 ft x 13.5ft x 12ft, it is fabricated of 483 motorized elements known as brixels that were designed by Zolty’s technical team. These are spinning blocks that Zolty described as a holistic approach to the Earth’s aquatic movements. Each of Oceans’ vertical elements is 23 brixels tall. Individually, they are 16” wide, 6” tall, and 4” deep.
Each motion is derived from real-time oceanographic data sourced from over 100 global cities. Patterns change every few minutes to represent aquatic conditions of a city. The driver for the wave motion is real-time Application Programming Interface (API) data. “As viewers approach, and raise a hand, the sculpture responds by integrating their impression into the aquatic tableau,” Zolty related.
LED boards that are embedded to shine out of the bottom of each brixel were created by BREAKFAST. Coordinating the mechanical and electrical aspects of Oceans took approximately a year. Zolty and staff members were present at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas for the installation.
Fontainebleau, a 220-page book that traces the hotel’s concept from its beginning, by Stephen Wallis, has been published by Assouline.
CREDITS
A blue-ribbon international design and construction team was commissioned to build and design the public and guest spaces and create the lighting that captures the drama and personality of each activity center.
• John Rawlins, Executive Vice President of Design for Fontainebleau Development, design lead for overall vision of the resort
• Carlos Zapata Studio, developer of all exterior architecture
• David Collins Studio, overall interior design themes, including the resort’s lobby, Fleur de Lis suite collection, Collins, and Don’s Prime
• Rockwell Group, food and beverage concepts, and specialty areas including ITO, The Tavern, Azul Tequila & Mezcal Lounge, Chez Bon Bon, Promenade, Komodo, Papi Steak, Poodle Room, LIV Las Vegas, LIV Beach, Fitness Center, and BleauLive Theater
• Jeffrey Beers International, Oasis Pool Deck, La Côte, La Fontaine, and meeting and convention spaces
• Lifescapes International, exterior and interior landscapes
• W. A. Richardson Builders, LLC, general contractor
• Lissoni & Partners, Lapis Spa & Wellness
Participating lighting design consultants include L’Observatoire International and Illuminating Concepts.
Oceans, the interactive free-standing illuminated sculpture in the lobby at the southwest entrance to the Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino, was created and fabricated by the Brooklyn-based studio, BREAKFAST.
