Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/314388
photography by robert millelr Contrary to the traditional, expected ways of constructing hotel-casinos, Wynn offered guests a moment of pause: "When people leave the excitement of a casino to go eat dinner, we want to deliberately separate the restaurants architecturally so you can take an emotional beat and reset yourself." Hence, the calm and private Country Club, the sequestered and serene Mizumi, and the coastal splendor of Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare. In the annals of hotel-casino design, Steve Wynn and Roger Thomas are well known for disruptive innovation—the most famous story being Thomas's redesign of the clubby, mascu- line high-limit slots salon at Wynn. When data showed that women preferred these games, out went the overstuffed leather armchairs and mahogany paneling and in went a wall of windows to flood the room with natural light, with "garden conservatory" colors of lime green, white, and gold. The reconceived room soared in popularity. In fact, Thomas says, the notion of disruption does not drive their design decisions; rather, relentless consideration is the principle at work. "We don't really prac- tice psychology as much as respect," he says. "Making environments comfortable, pleasing, and easy to navigate is the goal." The pair is known for going the opposite way of the design herd, but it was perhaps their boldest move ever to cloister Wynn and Encore from the Strip. Wynn had pioneered the splashy entrance— an erupting volcano at Mirage, a pirate ship fronting Treasure Island, those choreographed fountains at Bellagio. But on a boulevard fill- ing up with lights—and a shopping mall looming just across the street—Wynn says that the Strip was becoming obtrusive. After he finished Bellagio, the Aladdin was being rebuilt across the street, with its high-wattage sign running at full power. "We were sitting at Picasso with Robert Wagner and Jill St. John, and when the sign changed color, the ladies turned orange," he says. Protecting the new resort became his primary objective. He asked himself whether he needed that splashy entrance after all. "Curiosity is more provocative than fountains or a volcano," Wynn notes. "I couldn't build a wall high enough to shelter us, but a mountain would do two things: It would block the view of the shopping cen- ter, and it would mean everything was for the people on the inside. And that would create curiosity. Any kid worth a nickel will climb a fence to see what's on the other side." n "Any kid worth a nickel will climb a fence high enough to see what's on the other side. Curiosity is more provocative than fountains or a volcano." A sweeping view from the Tableau Conservatory. 40 Wynn STEvE Wynn 034-040_Wynn_FOB_Steve_Spring14.indd 40 5/15/14 4:08 PM