Harmon - Las Vegas, USA (Foster)

[khris]

A new boutique hotel in Las Vegas designed by architect Norman Foster – who is soon to lose his seat in the House of Lords after becoming a Swiss citizen to avoid paying taxes – is being cut almost in half due to a construction error: "15 floors of wrongly installed rebar."
The hotel, called the Harmon, was meant to stand at 49 stories; it will now reach a mere 28.
"It’s still unclear how the Harmon will be capped," the Las Vegas Sun reports, "and what reengineering will be required for such infrastructure elements as elevators and vents. If the Harmon’s exterior isn’t significantly redesigned, it risks looking unmistakably out of proportion. Think 28 oz. of tomatoes squished into a 16 oz. can."
Midway through becoming what you were meant to be, an unanticipated internal flaw forces you to become something else entirely – for good or for bad, that remains to be seen.

Source

 

[khris]

Wrangles over doomed tower
Only legal bills rise as Foster + Partners' building falters

 

[gabe]

The building is cursed! they should just demolish it, Out of all the buildings at City Center i find the Harmon looks the worst



Mandarin Oriental and Veer Tower





ARIA





Vdara





Harmon with an ugly Cirque du Soleil Elvis sign

 

[neuhaus]

I was in Las Vegas earlier this year for a few months, and the Harmon is definitely the least successful building of the CityCenter development.
Having the building's height almost cut in half made it look almost like a package of toilet paper. The original renderings show radius glass used (which is incredibly expensive) which would have looked much better especially with the intended height.
The building will probably be dismantled as the structure is still inadequate (even with the shortened height), the real estate in Nevada will take forever to recover, and there is a huge oversupply of hotel rooms.

The rest of the CityCenter development is beautiful: modern, sophisticated and well detailed -- unlike the tacky hot mess of the rest of Las Vegas.
Veer Towers (all residential) is my favorite and even more impressive in person, while the Mandarin would be my favorite hotel in Vegas because it is very calming yet sophisticated (there's a awesome bar/lounge on the 24th floor overlooking the strip).

There are quite a few abandoned mega developments in Vegas which is such a surreal sight.

 

[junctionist]

It's amazing how Las Vegas is emerging as this city with exuberant architecture fueled by an economy focused strongly on a single industry. It reminds me of Detroit in the early twentieth century, which emerged with stunning architecture against notions that a city's architectural standards develop gradually over time.

Which isn't to say Las Vegas is doomed; it's just one mode of city development that could have different outcomes.

 

[gabe]

The new Cosmopolitan Of Las Vegas opening on Dec 15, will probably be the last billion dollar mega resort Vegas will see for a while, until the economy picks up.

"Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas[1] is a luxury resort casino, hotel and condo that broke ground in October 2005 just south of the Bellagio on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip and consists of two highrise towers. Projected to open on December 15, 2010, the $3.9 billion project will feature 2,200 condominium-hotel units; 800 hotel rooms; a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) casino; 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) of retail and restaurant space; a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) spa and fitness facility; an 1,800 seat theater; and 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) of meeting/convention space." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cosmopolitan_Resort_&_Casino

 

[Antonio]

There are many property deals available in Las Vegas due to higher rate of foreclosure and investing in property will always prove to be fruitful in the long run. So, I recommend looking out for an excellent online real estate service provider to get the comprehensible idea of the current state of affairs of the market and subsequently invest wisely.