The Shops at Crystals is a 50,000-m2 (500,000-sf) retail and entertainment facility at the heart of CityCenter, an 87-acre mixed use development on the Las Vegas strip. This breathtaking building is arranged with the primary retail units distributed around the perimeter within stainless steel-clad sloping crystalline volumes. The retail crystals are connected on the interior of the building with a public arcade that features interiors design by the Rockwell Group and art installations by WET Design. Overhead a roofscape comprised of interlocking curved and folded forms is punctuated with skylights that flood the arcade below with natural light. The dramatic architecture of the building is balanced with environmental consciousness. The complex is LEED Gold certificated, the world’s largest retail facility to achieve this recognition.

This landmark building, which occupies an entire city block, was ambitious in scale, geometric complexity, and schedule. Construction documents for the structural steel framing were issued in a phased approach beginning three months after the start of design. Structural steel solutions were employed throughout the building, including sloping perimeter columns and roof trusses with up to 60-m (200-ft) in length, including 30-m (90-ft) cantilever over the entrance to Las Vegas Boulevard. Retail floors also employed structural steel framing to maximize the column grid for retail layout versatility and to facilitate possible modifications for future tenant development. An integral BIM approach was essential to meet the schedule and to accurately specify the construction geometry of this iconic building.

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*Project delivered by Principal prior to joining PICCO