Domingo Cambeiro, AIA
Domingo Cambeiro Corp. Architects, Las Vegas
Apart from all the wonderful restaurants and casinos, we have some great civic projects being built in Las Vegas. The new Clark County Government Center by Fentress Bradburn is a good piece of architecture. Located downtown, it’s the county seat and it’s all done in sandstone. Also, you should take a look at the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, by Cannon Design. It’s a GSA Design Excellence project and winner of a GSA Honor Award. Antoine Predock’s Lied Discovery Children’s Museum is a great place to take the kids. For a look at where hotel and casino design in Las Vegas may be headed, you’ll want to check out the Wynn Las Vegas, scheduled to open at the end of April. That will be a great sight!

Zia Hansen, AIA
Avery Brooks & Associates, Las Vegas
My pick for the best architecture in Las Vegas would be Hoover Dam, which is such an impressive example of public work. Otherwise, in my opinion the most exciting and creative design has been happening in the realm of interior hospitality design architecture, where the competition is so fierce that design must impress and allure the customers and display a certain amount of drama, surprise, and passion. Some of the best examples are: The restaurant Mix at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, the club Rumjungle at Mandalay Bay, the restaurant Shibuya at MGM, the nightclub Tabú at MGM, and Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio.

Dean Inouye, Assoc. AIA
Swisher & Hall AIA, Limited, Las Vegas
I would recommend that you visit the Stratosphere Tower, the tallest freestanding observation tower in the U.S. At the top you can see the entire Las Vegas valley from 1,149 feet in the air, without having to pay for a helicopter or plane ride. The cost is only about $10 per person. Another place to go is a project known as The District, which is a condominium mixed-use type of facility located at the south end of Las Vegas. I also recommend that you visit one of the many fine restaurants and casinos that we have in town. One fun restaurant that I would suggest is Hofbräuhaus of Las Vegas, which is located at the corner of Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue.

J. Windom Kimsey, FAIA
Tate Snyder Kimsey Architects, Henderson, Nev.
I think there are three things that everyone should see. First, the architecture and engineering of the Hoover Dam is simply beautiful and not to be missed. The second thing is to see the interiors of the many new restaurants and so-called Ultra Lounges in Las Vegas. The casinos are really outdoing themselves with restaurant design and are among the best design gems we have. At the Mandalay, where the convention will be, they have some great restaurants like Aureole. It has beautiful glass wine towers and “wine angels” who go up on cables to retrieve your wine then rappel down. It’s pretty fantastic. The third must see is any of the Cirque du Soleil shows. The settings, the stage, everything is just incredible.

Joyce Orias, AIA
Urban Architecture & Design, Las Vegas
My top recommendations would include visiting the New York-New York and Paris Las Vegas hotels and casinos. New York New York has some great restaurants and probably the best arcade in all of Las Vegas. With speeds up to 67 miles per hour and drops of nearly 150 feet, the New York-New York’s rooftop Manhattan Express roller coaster hurtles you through high-rise buildings while also providing the some of the top views of the city. The Paris Las Vegas casino offers the best buffets on the whole Strip. They present cuisine from several districts in Paris, as well as Brittany, Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Provence. They have an incredible Sunday brunch and the finest view of the Bellagio’s fountains. For someone uninterested in gambling, these are two great options.

Bradley D. Schulz, AIA
KGA Architecture, Las Vegas
As far as the Strip itself and the free things it offers, you should certainly see the Bellagio Fountain show, the Volcano at the Mirage, and Sirens of Treasure Island, an enacted pirate battle complete with full-sized ships and fireworks. Of the paid shows, Clint Holmes, Celine Dion, or any of the Cirque du Soleil shows are well worth seeing: Mystére at Treasure Island, Ká at MGM Grand, and “O,” a water-based show at Bellagio, are all fantastic. The Bellagio’s conservatory is a fascinating place with 20,000 square feet of plants that rotate on a monthly and seasonal basis. The Venetian is an incredible place to walk through. To go into the Canal Shops and see the gondoliers piloting their gondolas through the shops themselves is a pretty amazing thing, especially considering that it’s sitting on top of the casino, and the swimming pool is above the Canal Shops. For other shopping, don’t miss the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, Desert Passage at Aladdin, and the Shops at Via Bellagio.

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