News

No one thinks Las Vegas is a bastion of successful urban planning. So when a project pops up on the Strip that's called CityCenter and bills itself the “Capital of the New World,” it's a bit surprising; never mind that it cost $8.5-billion and launched in the teeth of a major recession

Still, a cast of thousands – including Orlando Bloom and other A-listers – attended the opening parties in December, mixing with Daniel Libeskind and the other star architects who worked on the hotels, condos, casinos, retail and restaurants.

At one of last month's parties, Libeskind looked impish in his signature black leather blazer and black cowboy boots, hanging out in Masayoshi Takayama's Bar Masa, which looks like a German airport lounge (there was even a trapped bird flying around, distracting bemused diners). “The more I worked with [developers MGM Mirage], the more I thought, ‘Either they are crazy, or this is the most visionary project ever,'” Libeskind said. “Everything else in Vegas looks like it's from another timeline, whereas this is about high density and sustainability, not just theme parks.”

Indeed, the developers – another partner is cash-strapped Dubai World – argue that the project points to a bright, shiny future, where Las Vegas is recast as an eco-friendly cultural destination ruled by fine art and world-class architecture. But before you laugh all this off as a bizarre pipe dream, remember that Las Vegas has reinvented itself more often than Cher (who, incidentally, is currently performing at Caesars Palace).

The star attractions of CityCenter are still quintessentially Vegas-style: state-of-the-art hotel spas, celebrity-chef restaurants (such as Michael Mina's American Fish), nightclubs (including Eve, co-owned by Eva Longoria Parker), exclusive luxury-brand shops, a bombastic new Cirque du Soleil show and a handful of state-of-the-art water features.

Yet unlike other Vegas resorts, where daylight is banished in favour of fake skylines and forever dusky lighting, buildings here have plenty of windows and skylights. It's significant, since six of CityCenter's buildings are LEED Gold-certified, making this one of the largest green building projects in the world.

CityCenter has the world's first limo fleet powered by clean-burning compressed natural gas, and the project uses its own energy-generating plant and new, energy-saving cooling systems and water conservation technologies throughout.

There's also $40-million worth of art, including work by such heavyweights as Claes Oldenburg, Jenny Holzer and Maya Lin. But most unusual for Vegas is the architecture, a collection of contemporary-looking buildings by some of the world's top architects, including Libeskind, Norman Foster and Cesar Pelli. The effect is striking. Walking around the collection of hotels and the 500,000-square-foot Crystals mall, along cavernous hallways, past slot machines and the occasional major work of art (isn't that a Henry Moore just outside Eva Longoria Parker's nightclub and restaurant? Yup) can feel like being trapped in the Vegas version of an M.C. Escher painting, where one gleaming tower endlessly curves into another.

Libeskind created Crystals, a hyper-futurist shopping mall where his trademark spiky forms define unusual spaces (the interiors are by star designer David Rockwell) and light streams through clusters of skylights.

But how does a shopping mall positioned across the street from a Planet Hollywood hotel differ from crafting a museum? “I'm against the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow art or architecture. I think that's from another era,” Libeskind said. “It would be better if more serious architecture got involved with the prosaic.”

But does he believe, as his clients do, that CityCenter represents some kind of Vegas-style cultural revolution that will now have a sudden, drastic effect on the city's personality? “Yes!” he asserted. “People think that great cities change very slowly, but in fact they change suddenly. Think about Rockefeller Center in New York or Haussmann's Paris – things changed suddenly because of people with great vision. Urban reinvigoration is bold and involves risk.”

There's no question that CityCenter is bold, visionary and risky. It's a big bet, and Vegas understands those very well.

Special to The Globe and Mail

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Where to shop

Crystals (3720 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702-590-9230; crystalsatcitycenter.com) is home to the usual luxe brand suspects – Bulgari, Louis Vuitton et al. – but also a handful of rarer retail species:

Assouline 702-795-0166; assouline.com. This outpost of the French art and lifestyle publishing house is at once cozy and sophisticated, with warm red walls and plush carpeting. Plunk down in the sitting area by the coffee table and flip through such glowing portraits of upper-crust life as Polo: The Nomadic Tribe or A Privileged Life: Celebrating WASP Style .

Paul Smith www.paulsmith.co.uk. Find one-of-a-kind vintage art books mixed in with the multitasking British designer's creations. Sir Paul, though best known for his jaunty Brit-with-a-twist men's wear, has expanded into women's wear, kids' clothes, fragrances, sunglasses, design objects and even fine china.

Kiki de Montparnasse 702-736-7883; kikidm.com. Toronto-born Jennifer Zuccarini's lingerie and erotica brand is in the Agent Provocateur mould (retro, naughty, expensive). Beyond the bras there are high-end sex toys such as the $1,500 (U.S.) Yva vibrator in stainless steel or gold plate. This is Kiki's third kinky outpost, after New York and L.A.

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Where to eat

Bar Masa 3730 Las Vegas Blvd.; 1-877-230-2742; arialasvegas.com/dining. Masayoshi Takayama's restaurant is the Vegas answer to New York's more casual Bar Masa and the Michelin three-star Masa. In a cavernous wood-steel-and-concrete space, dishes like popcorn shrimp with Romesco sauce and Omi beef tataki with white truffle complement a wide selection of sushi and sashimi.
Sage 3730 Las Vegas Blvd., 1-877-230-2742, arialasvegas.com/dining. Chicago chef Shawn McClain's first foray into Vegas serves up sustainable seafood and farm-to-table fare. With its purple-hued lighting and dark wood furniture, it feels like a New York cigar lounge. Try the foie gras custard brûlée with Moro blood orange, toasted cocoa nibs and salted brioche.

Twist by Pierre Gagnaire 3752 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 888-881-0367, mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas/dining/twist. French chef Pierre Gagnaire, another three-star Michelin winner, makes his Vegas debut on the 23rd floor of the Mandarin Oriental. Gagnaire's intellectual, poetic and thoroughly contemporary take on French food (he edges into molecular gastronomy territory) makes him one of the most exciting culinary newcomers. The space features a glass-fronted wine cellar embedded in the ceiling and dozens of glass balls suspended by transparent wire. Expect the elaborate, such as langoustine done five ways (mousseline, grilled, tartare, seared and geléed).

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Where to stay

Vdara 2600 W. Harmon Ave.; 866-745-7767; vdara.com. From $133. With sleek contemporary design by Rafael Viñoly, no casino and just one restaurant, this hotel keeps a relatively low profile. There is an 18,000-square-foot spa and fitness centre conveniently located adjacent to the champagne bar and the pool area is perched above reception, looking onto Big Edge , Nancy Rubin's tree-like sculpture of brightly coloured aluminum canoes.

Aria 3730 Las Vegas Blvd.; 866-359-7757; arialasvegas.com. From $153. This one has a casino, a half-dozen upscale celeb-chef-owned eateries plus a handful of budget eatery options (like a buffet), a spa complete with something called an “infused salt room,” heated stone Japanese ganbanyoku beds and a balcony pool. Aria's custom-built Elvis Theater houses Cirque du Soleil's latest spectacle, Viva Elvis.

Mandarin Oriental 3752 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; 702-590-8888; mandarinoriental.com/lasvegas. From $263. A more traditional option, the hotel offers the brand's standard five-star service, and amenities including a spa spanning 27,000 square feet including a mosaic-tiled Turkish hammam with a twinkling light ceiling. The 23rd-floor Mandarin Bar offers sparkling views of the Strip and surroundings.