Vdara

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Vdara Hotel & Spa
Vdara logo.svg
Vdara - South - 2010-03-06.JPG
Vdara as seen from the Aria
General information
StatusOperating
TypeCondo hotel
LocationParadise, Nevada, U.S.
Address2600 West Harmon Avenue
Coordinates36°6′34″N 115°10′41″W / 36.10944°N 115.17806°W / 36.10944; -115.17806Coordinates: 36°6′34″N 115°10′41″W / 36.10944°N 115.17806°W / 36.10944; -115.17806
Topped-outMay 14, 2008
OpeningDecember 1, 2009
OwnerThe Blackstone Group
ManagementMGM Resorts International
Height578-foot (176 m)
Technical details
Floor count57
Floor area180,525 m2 (1,943,150 sq ft)
Design and construction
ArchitectRafael Viñoly
DeveloperMGM Resorts International
Other information
Number of suites1,495
Number of restaurants1 (Market Cafe Vdara)
Parking629
Website
www.vdara.com
[1]

Vdara Hotel & Spa (/vəˈdɑːrə/ və-DAR-ə)[2] is a 1.6 million sq ft (150,000 m2) condo-hotel and spa located within the CityCenter complex across from Aria Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Vdara opened on December 1, 2009 as a joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Infinity World Development.

Vdara's 57-story, 578-foot (176 m) tower houses 1,495 suites; an 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2), two-story spa, salon and fitness center; a market and a bar. It also has a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) pool and deck area. Vdara does not contain casino space and, along with Waldorf Astoria, is one of two non-gaming, non-smoking hotels within CityCenter.[3] In 2010, it was discovered that the hotel's reflective surface and concave design can act as a parabolic reflector that creates conditions of extremely high temperature at the pool deck.[4][5]

In 2011, Vdara received its first AAA Four Diamond Award.[6]

History[]

Vdara, designed by Rafael Vinoly of RV Architecture, LLC, is a condo-hotel, located between the Aria Resort & Casino and the Bellagio. Vdara's 57-story tower houses 1,495 units, ranging from 526 to 1,750 sq ft (48.9 to 162.6 m2). The Architect of Record was Leo A. Daly, while the Detroit-based firm Hamilton Anderson Associates was the Architect of Record for the interior guest rooms. Tishman Construction Corporation served as Construction Manager, and Perini Building Company was the project's General Contractor. Vdara was the first tower to open December 1, 2009. Vdara was the first of the six high rises in the project to be topped out on May 14, 2008.

Vdara was the first of six projects to be completed as part of the $8.5 billion CityCenter complex. Vdara's opening on December 1, 2009 was followed by The Crystals, a retail shopping center; Mandarin Oriental and Aria Resort & Casino in the same month.[7] Prior to its opening, Vdara was designated as a LEED Gold award building and received a five-key rating from the Green Key Eco-Rating Program.[8][9] Designed by Rafael Viñoly of RV Architecture, LLC, Vdara's 57-story crescent-shaped structure is formed by three parallel, offset arcs of varying heights. Because of its staggered arc design, Vdara contains six corner suites per floor, compared to four in a conventional building. The curvature of the building was designed as complementary to the arcs of Aria Resort & Casino, which is located across a shared circular driveway.

In 2021, the real estate assets of the Vdara property were sold by MGM Resorts to the Blackstone Group for $3.89 billion in cash, who will be leasing the property back to MGM for an annual rent of $215 million. The purchase of the land happened concurrently with MGM's takeover of the property from a Dubai World subsidy, named Infinity World Development, previously owning 50% in CityCenter.[10][11]

Facilities[]

Art[]

Artwork is incorporated into Vdara's interior and exterior design. Nancy Rubin's 50 by 80 ft (15 by 24 m) canoe sculpture Big Edge is displayed at the entrance of the hotel[12] and an 8 by 32 ft (2.4 by 9.8 m) painting by Frank Stella hangs above the registration desk in the lobby.

Suites[]

Vdara contains 1,495 suites which include studios, deluxe studios, one- and two-bedroom suites and one- and two-bedroom penthouses. The units range from 526 to 1,750 sq ft (48.9 to 162.6 m2) in size and contain a kitchen as well as a washing machine and dryer.[3]

The suites at Vdara are sold as private residences and owners have the option to participate in a rental program to lease their condos as hotel rooms when they are not residing there. The unsold pool of condos are structured as permanent hotel rooms managed by MGM Resorts International.[13][14]

Attractions[]

Looking up at the Vdara, 2010

An 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) two-story spa and salon called Spa & Salon Vdara is made up of 11 private treatment rooms, a sauna, a steam room, co-ed lounges, a full service salon, a fitness center and a smoothie/coffee bar.[15] Pool & Lounge Vdara covers 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) and has 19 private cabanas.

A market called Market Cafe Vdara opened on March 1, 2011, just before Vdara's only restaurant, Silk Road, closed on March 8, 2011. Vdara's only bar, Vice Versa, is also located in the lobby and contains inside and outside seating overlooking CityCenter.[16] Vdara has approximately 16,500 sq ft (1,530 m2) of meeting space that includes a 4,000 sq ft (370 m2) ballroom and three breakout rooms, one of which is a 14-person board room.[2]

Solar convergence[]

In 2010, it was established that the building's reflective surface and concave design can act as a collecting mirror. The parallel incoming radiation from the sun is partially reflected and focuses in one dimension to a still one-dimensional vertical line that lies about f = 50 m in front of the facade and hits the ground.[17]

The reflected rays of the sun create dangerous conditions of extremely high temperature at the pool deck. Hotel employees as well as local news outlets have reportedly taken to calling the phenomenon the "death ray," with the management describing it as a "solar convergence".[4][18] Vdara management has considered various solutions but the challenge in overcoming the structural design problem is that the sun and its reflection are targets that constantly move during the day and as every season progresses.[4] In the meantime, management has installed large blue umbrellas over the pool deck to protect bathers,[5] while the hotel's glass exterior has been covered with non-reflective film.[19]

The architect who designed Vdara, Rafael Viñoly, also designed the "Walkie-Talkie" skyscraper in London, built in 2013, which has been dubbed the "Walkie-Scorchie" and "Fryscraper" due to a similar, sun-reflecting and scorching problem.[19][20][21]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Vdara". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  2. ^ a b Kapelke, Chuck (17 April 2009). "View From Vegas: Vegas Gone Wild". Smart Meetings.
  3. ^ a b "CityCenter commemorates construction milestone". Casino City Times. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Joan Whiteley (September 25, 2010). "Vdara visitor: 'Death ray' scorched hair". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  5. ^ a b "The 'death ray hotel' burning Las Vegas visitors came up with a simple fix" by Leanna Garfield, Business Insider, 30 June 2016
  6. ^ Leach, Robin (May 11, 2011). "Guy Savoy celebrate 5 years at Caesars; XS at night; Vdara wins award". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  7. ^ "CityCenter's Vdara officially open for business". NBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  8. ^ Lucht, Nicole (September 18, 2009). "Strip Hotels garner LEED gold". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  9. ^ "MGM Resorts touts green award in Vegas, Detroit". Las Vegas Appeal. July 16, 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  10. ^ "MGM to sell Aria and Vdara; more transactions..." Hotel Business. 2021-07-06. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  11. ^ Sayre, Katherine (2021-07-01). "MGM Resorts Agrees to Sell Las Vegas CityCenter for $3.9 Billion". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  12. ^ Dickensheets, Scott. "Notes on a juggernaut". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  13. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (May 27, 2009). "Building It Big in Las Vegas". New York Times. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  14. ^ Wargo, Buck (May 28, 2010). "CityCenter condo closings slow in down economy". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  15. ^ "Spa & Salon Vdara". Vdara. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Bar Vdara". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  17. ^ Vdara hotel maps.google.com – satellite view allows to see, that the concave – full rectangular – rectangular forefront facade has a horizontally bending radius r of about 100 m, which makes the focal length (f = r / 2) to be about 50 m, is bent about circular, is about 60 m broad and its area faces to SSW. The much less compact facade right behind the first one has a similar radius and faces to south. Vdara lies 36.11 degrees north, the air temperatures can rise pretty high in Las Vegas.
  18. ^ "'Death ray' at Vegas hotel pool heats up guests". NBC News. September 30, 2010.
  19. ^ a b "'[Vdara] was a completely different problem,' said Viñoly, insisting he was following a masterplan that specified arc-shaped towers. 'We pointed out that would be an issue too, but who cares if you fry somebody in Las Vegas, right?'" : from "Walkie Talkie architect 'didn't realise it was going to be so hot'" by Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian, 6 September 2013
  20. ^ Memmott, Mark (September 3, 2013). "Death Ray II". NPR. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  21. ^ "From the Walkie Talkie to the Death Ray Hotel: buildings turn up the heat" by Jon Henley, The Guardian, 3 September 2013

External links[]

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