Page 20 - Designing Ways 248

INTERIOR
DESIGN Daphnee, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas
Photo credit: David Marquart

The myth of Daphne revisited and brought Daphnee, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas

to light by Pascale Girardin Photo credit: Sory Sangaré

Las Vegas, United States

he Caesars Forum Convention evergreen foliage has been valued and
Center is located in Las Vegas, appreciated since Ancient Rome.
TNevada and spans five acres east In addition to bringing movement,
of the Las Vegas Strip. The LEED Gold- suppleness, grace and lightness to the
certified building’s architecture features linear architectural structure with which
an extensive expanse of floorspace. Its two the artwork interacts, the Montreal artist
ballrooms, for example, cover an area of and designer’s creations introduce the
20,000 square metres. gestural sensibility of organic forms.
KGA Architecture called upon Pascale The various elements, which gracefully
Girardin’s atelier, known internationally fluctuate in elevation, create a three-
for its creative contributions to the hotel dimensional pattern that lends a poetic
industry, in order to create a series of dimension to the space. They recall
artworks for the convention center’s the legend of how the nymph Daphne
lobby, which reaches a height of 35 feet. (Greek Δάφνη, meaning “laurel”), was
In response to the venue’s unique brand, transformed into a shrub to thwart the
the laurel tree - symbol of immortality - attention of Apollo.
quickly asserted its evocative power in the For this project, aluminum, a malleable
artist’s mind. With the natural light provided material, was a natural choice. As with
by an abundance of windows, two giant ceramic, this medium lends itself well to
mobiles are now displaying their pristine, pressing and allows for the expression of
sinuous and slender cups, reminiscent a variety of forms. More than a thousand
of the Laurus nobilis (true laurel), whose leaves adorned with accents of gold leaf

20 Issue 248 • dw