Client: Las Vegas Arts Commission

Overview

Commissioned for a pedestrian bridge across North Las Vegas Boulevard, this internally lit sculpture serves as a gateway to Las Vegas’ “Cultural Corridor”. It is made of aluminum, polypropylene, and LED lights. The lights are mounted behind a colored translucent face, turning this new landmark into a beacon for the Corridor. Inspired by the nearby Neon Museum, it is over 160' long on both sides of the bridge, and has become a new civic gateway for the City.

Goals

Las Vegas has a heritage that identifies the City as a destination for relaxation, gaming, and entertainment. This heritage takes a variety of forms, from distinctive architecture, to extravagant casinos, ostentatious signs, and flamboyant shows. “Vegas Arabesque” pays homage to these Las Vegas icons.

With colors reminiscent of the desert Southwest, this sculptural form alights across a pedestrian bridge that is the new gateway to the City’s cultural institutions. The shapes used in the design build a rhythm that suggests the visual splendor of a Vegas chorus line. These figurative forms dance across the bridge in the playful spirit of Las Vegas’ own version of Americana.

“Vegas Arabesque” also pays homage to vintage Las Vegas signs. Reminiscent of some of the grand spectacles of signage from historic Las Vegas, the sculpture serves as a beacon for the City’s cultural institutions. One of those “culturals”, the Neon Museum, is mere yards away from the new bridge. The Museum is home to the “neon boneyard”, the final resting place for the glorious signs of Las Vegas’ past.

Process

Winner of the Mayor's Urban Design in 2011, this illuminated gateway sculpture was incorporated into the design of the new pedestrian bridge.