The new development for Las Vegas will form a connection between the proposed High Speed Rail Station and the new VIVA Station development located west of I-15. The development will incorporate a multitude of uses, including a new linear parkway that extends North/South, office space, condominiums, affordable housing, a recreation center, an event center, and commercial space. Combinatory Urbanism, a concept established by Thom Mayne, was incorporated into this project. 

From Morphopedia:
THOM MAYNE’S COMBINATORY URBANISM: THE COMPLEX BEHAVIOR OF COLLECTIVE FORM EXPLORES NEW DIRECTIONS AND APPROACHES TO URBAN PLANNING AND DESIGN. 

For the past forty years Thom Mayne and his firm, Morphosis, have been engaged with projects that exist in the hybrid space between architecture and urban planning. Against this backdrop, Thom Mayne’s new book Combinatory Urbanism: The Complex Behavior of Collective Form (Stray Dog Café, 2011) surveys 12 urban projects that range in scale from a 16-acre proposal for rebuilding the World Trade Center site after the 2001 terrorist attacks to a 52 thousand-acre redevelopment proposal for Post-Katrina New Orleans. This book and the proposals found within, posit an alternative to traditional end-state planning solutions, while attempting to not only illuminate but also explicate Mayne’s own work and critical processes. Combinatory Urbanism represents a departure from previous Morphosis publications. Both a manifesto on urbanism and a comprehensive presentation of Morphosis urban design projects, many of which have never before been published; this book fills a void in the world of architectural and urban design publications. 


I used this idea in my design to suggest a new type of Las Vegas Urbanism that responds to the needs and multitude of uses that the people of Las Vegas demand. By intersecting and combining program uses and building form, the development was able to "explore new directions and approaches to urban planning and design" in a beneficial way. The development strives to create a new Las Vegas experience that attracts not only tourists, but locals as well who are looking for a place that meets their work, live, and play needs. 

Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown published "Learning from Lsa Vegas" in the 1960s. The book was a treatise on symbolism in architecture. Las Vegas is analyzed as a phenomenon of architectural communication. The ‘Strip’ is architecture of communication over space, achieved through style and signs. Las Vegas achieves victory of symbolism-space over forms-in-space. The main argument is that spatial relationships are created through symbols rather than forms.

But much has changed in Las Vegas since then. Now, we must ask the question, when designing for Las Vegas, how do we create a urban design scheme that resembles this "new Las Vegas" style?

To investigate this question I first had to research what it this new Las Vegas was. Rem Koolhaas, in his book "Content" interviews DSB and Robert Venturi about the Las Vegas of the 21st century. They describe several evolution's, listing in the following presentation, that have occurred in Las Vegas. They also mention their recent article, "Las Vegas After Its Classical Age," which I have had trouble finding. 

The New Las Vegas

The new Las Vegas of today resembles some of the same characteristics of DisneyLand. 

“Here is a vivid urban complex that is beginning to embrace symbolic content by combining surface and form, graphic signage, and sculptural symbolism—both the “decorated shed” and the “duck” (i.e., the loft whose surfaces are ornamented with signs, and the building as sculptural symbol.)” —“The urban complex that is a city rather than a resort—a vivid multifaceted place that pragmatically juxtaposes decorated sheds and ducks through signage and sculpture, civic and commercial content—all in the service of enhanced communication, the vital community-building tool of our multicultural era. This is what the Las Vegases and Pop Century Resorts are leading up to and what the Tokyo of today has essentially achieved.”

For this urban design project, I embraced this idea and attempted to represent it in my design scheme. 

Several projects are already underway or completed that embrace this "New Las Vegas" idea; such project as Libeskinds "CityCenter," which was completed in 2010.
—“CityCenter is a 21st century experience and a celebration of public urban life with retail, entertainment and the feel of an urban neighborhood. Crystals transforms the conventions of shopping and dining with a landscape of sophisticated and contemporary spaces enlivening The Strip and making CityCenter an international destination.”

– Daniel Libeskind

Las Vegas, a city known for its disregard of sustainable practices, has recently recognized the design potential that a high-speed rail network could offer to the city. “Desert Xpress”; a rail line that would connect Victorville, CA, to Las Vegas, would help reduce energy consumption generated by cars and encourage public transit. Located along Route I-15 and adjacent to the famous Las Vegas Strip, the new High-Speed Rail Station would serve as a destination point for tourists and a new landmark for the city. The building would promote sustainability and low energy consumption by incorporating passive design strategies such as sun shading, thermal mass, and natural ventilation, as well as active design strategies such as photovoltaic panels, green roofs, and water conservation. The design intent is to recognize the importance of Transit-Oriented Design in America, especially in a car dependent city such as Las Vegas, by incorporating a multitude of uses integrated in one harmonious structure. 


For additional information, please contact Brandon Young at byoung5@kent.edu. 

To me, a design concept is essential to every project, every design. Its what leads the design throughout the entire design process. My initial design concept is usually a simple thought then jotted down on paper in a sketch form. The sketch evolves into a series of diagrams, possibly further sketches and design iterations. The most important part about a concept is that it guides the design process; the designer is constantly referring to the concept when making design decisions and producing drawings.
 

For this project: The Las Vegas High Speed Rail Station, the concept was simple: taking a vertical motion of a hotel tower, combined with the horizontal motion of a railway, and creating a dynamic, fluid form that represents the comprehensive function of both elements.

situated along interstate I-15, the las vegas high speed rail station will serve as the main transit hub for las vegas, using the ‘desert xpress’ hsr line from los angeles. the use of hsr in las vegas will reduce vehicular traffic from california and encourage public transportation. the building is a monogeneous structure with a variety of program types ranging from a high speed rail station to a hotel and casino. the layout of these spaces was determined by the proximity of user function as well as the linear path brought on by the high speed rail. as the horizontal rail meets with the terminal and shopping center, the form in thrust upwards in a curvilinear motion. the point of collision becomes the node through which all the programs are connected. this massive atrium space is surrounded by a shopping center, casino, hotel, and terminal. together all of these programs are designed to work in harmony with one another for the betterment of the terminal station for which the design is based off of. 

So I recently decided to test out some LED lights in this architectural model I'm working on for a Las Vegas High Speed Rail project. We've all seen those pretty white architectural models lit up with LED lights...

So I thought for this project I'd give it a go. Of course, as long as it was semi-cheap. I found this on amazon where you can order strips of LEDs for relatively cheap. So I bought a sample strip. And it worked out great!