Learning from Las Vegas

Uniform lighting conditions

ERCO luminaires were used in almost every area, including outdoors, the exhibition halls, connecting corridors and hallways. Uniform lighting conditions were thus installed throughout the building. The harmonious lighting creates orientation and a harmonious sense of space for trade show visitors in the large-scale building, whilst also accentuating the architecture: lighting designer David Ghatan of CM Kling + Associates sums up the implemented lighting as "championing the architecture".

Modern and fit for the future

A characteristic exterior feature of the innovative West Hall architecture is the roof spanning the entire new building. Its dazzling white coating alone, reflecting the desert sun, makes it impossible to miss. Its curved silhouette echoes the nearby mountain range of the Spring Mountains. As such, the construction unmistakably stands out in the Las Vegas skyline as the new architectural trademark of the LVCC. It is accentuated by more than 300 Kona outdoor projectors from ERCO installed on the roof structure and masts. Extensive mounting accessories enable Kona to be flexibly installed. Each projector is individually aligned via pan-and-tilt mounting plates to precisely accentuate all nuances of the architecture.

Open-air atmosphere

The curved roof construction reaches its climax in the spectacular West Hall entrance: a 36 metre-high arched vault constructed of glass and steel spans the daylight-flooded entrance atrium. This is the so-called Grand Lobby with an open glazed facade facing Paradise Road. Projecting far out, the roof creates a generously dimensioned forecourt. Kona projectors installed in the outdoor space and in the entrance atrium achieve uniform lighting conditions between indoors and outdoors, and visual architectural axes and viewing angles are simultaneously accentuated. Here, too, each Kona projector has been individually aligned.

Daylight according to needs

DALI-controlled lighting is essential in almost all areas of the extension, says David Ghatan. It is thus possible to react ideally to artificial light and daylight conditions and also balance out contrasts. This is because the large extension building multiply opens up to daylight – apart from the central exhibition hall with space of 30,472 m², the largest column-free hall in North America. A total of 14 integrated, flexible 'skyfold walls' can be raised so that daylight can enter the meeting rooms and smaller exhibition spaces according to needs.

An inviting quality of stay

In the connecting corridors and hallways, 300 ERCO Compar downlights provide good orientation and high visual comfort. Compar's anti-dazzle louvre limits the view into the luminaire, achieving maximum visual comfort even with a beam angle of 90°. The luminaires are complemented by 150 ERCO Compar wallwashers which achieve a high impression of brightness via uniform illumination of the walls. 1,400 ERCO Parscan spotlights have also been installed. Mounted in ceiling channels, the luminaires in minimalist design blend inconspicuously into the architecture. The ceiling channels are at right angles to the direction of movement, making the extensive corridors appear clearly arranged, scaled to a manageable size and with an invitingly pleasant quality of stay.

As a refreshingly new type of trade show construction, the West Hall has already established itself in colourful and dazzling downtown Las Vegas. It's also already received a nickname alluding to the white roof protecting against the desert heat: "snow cone", the ice cream classic traditionally served in a white paper cone in the USA.