Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/498649
his inner design circle on their favorite places in Bellagio, and with no other cues, he says, the Wynn Design and Development principals invari- ably turned to the kinds of places that humans seem genetically programmed to love. Butler and Roger Thomas, Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design and Development, liked a certain terrace because it looked out onto the water, while someone else cited a meeting-room balcony surrounded by trees that looks over a pool. "I was not surprised," Wynn says. "All of us were gravitating toward spaces that opened up to the outdoors, with water and sunlight." Onto these basic human instincts, Wynn lay- ered the simple movement of the arabesque—the swooping shape that best describes both the Wynn and Encore towers. "In a town where action and movement are important, a curved tower gives some subliminal excitement," he explains. "Your eye processes information sequentially, so a curve makes you follow it. Wherever possible, we don't go square; we slant and curve and go round." Another reason for the curve was to create a sense of intimacy. "We had explored an exploited Italianate grandeur at Bellagio at the expense of everything," Wynn says. "In order to have a big lake, I pushed the lobby all the way to the south. I made compromises." What resulted, Butler explains, were walking distances that can sur- pass the length of a football field. Cutting back on those distances and creating a welcoming, hospitable environment became the goal, Wynn says. "What's better than grandeur? It's intimacy. Nobody ever talks about going to the biggest hotel in the world. People want to go to the most intimate place. Intimacy trumps grandeur." Part of creating intimacy involves connect- ing indoor and outdoor spaces, adds Butler. "At Bellagio, we took that to one level: Bellagio looks out at the lake from some places, but out on some ugly street views from others. At Wynn, it was important to us that when you were inside, you were in a beautiful place, but also that you look out at something pretty." Ask Wynn about his favorite place in the hotel— a site where human aspiration meets design—and you'll get an unexpected answer: an unmarked spot on the Wynn Esplanade about halfway between Louis Vuitton and Chanel. "There is a moment when you're walking between those stores and you can stop and see the carousel horses in the distance. All of a sudden, the fronts An exuberant foral carousel by Preston Bailey in Wynn's atrium lends a feeling of perpetual spring. photography by barbara kraft 32 Wynn sTEVE WYNN