ShowCase: The Mondri and Elano Hotel

From Archinect:

ShowCase is an on-going feature series on Archinect, presenting exciting new work from designers representing all creative fields and all geographies. We are always accepting nominations for upcoming ShowCase features - if you would like to suggest a project, please send us a message. How do we make a hotel of genuine experiences in Las Vegas, the City of Pastiche? How do we extract the identity of the Mondrian and the Delano Hotels without producing copycat versions? How do we maximize the benefits of a large-scale complex without losing the identity and individual logistics of its parts? How do we address a mass audience while retaining the exclusivity required by a long tradition of ground breaking hotels? And finally, how do we create the Small and Intimate when the program is huge and imposing? ↑ Click image to enlarge Outside image (Click on this and all of the images to get a detailed view) ↑ Click image to enlarge Outside image ↑ Click image to enlarge Rain forest lobby ↑ Click image to enlarge Pool deck We studied the Mondrian and Delano Hotels with the aim to extract core elements of their identities. Rather than falling for their success, we tried to encircle where they could fail in the event of a Las Vegas relocation. ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Facade detail ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo ↑ Click image to enlarge Model photo What makes these two hotels different and what connects them? We have reproduced the essence of the hotel experience and thereby attempted to introduce a genuine experience of Las Vegas to Las Vegas. JDS/Julien de Smedt Architects Julien De Smedt is the founder and director of JDS Architects based in Copenhagen, with offices in Brussels and Oslo. A designer and architect whose work is known in Europe and abroad, Julien's commitment to the exploration of new architectural models and programs has helped to re-energize the discussion of architecture in Denmark with projects such as the VM Housing Complex, Maritime Youth House and Stavanger Concert Hall. Born in Brussels to French art enthusiast Jacques L鯢old and Belgian artist Claude De Smedt, Julien attended schools in Brussels, Paris, and Los Angeles before receiving his diploma from the Bartlett School of Architecture. Before founding JDS Architects, Julien worked with OMA, Rotterdam and co-founded in well known architecture firm PLOT in Copenhagen. Among other awards and recognitions, Julien received the Henning Larsen Prize in 2003 and an Eckersberg medal in 2005. In 2004 the Stavanger Concert Hall was appointed Worlds Best Concert Hall at the Venice Biennale, and the Maritime Youth House won the AR+D award in London and was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe award. In 2007 Julien also won a large international competition for the new Holmenkollen Skijump in Oslo, Norway. Julien has been a guest professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas and invited to teach at the University of Kentucky in 2009. Among other places, Julien has also lectured at the Sendai Mediatheque in Japan, the Architectural Association of Ireland, the Tate Modern in London, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, the Pavillon de l'arsenal in Paris, the McGill University in Montreal, Yale University in New Haven, and both SciArc and USC in Los Angeles. Julien's work has been exhibited in numerous locations around the world, such as Copenhagen, Toronto, Paris, New York City, and Sao Paulo. The first monograph of JDS Architects, entitled PIXL TO XL, was published by Damdi in December 2007 and is currently available.