Hi-Rising Vegas

The 61-story Aria Resort and Casino is the centerpiece to the CityCenter complex. MGM Mirage and Dubai World's own CityCenter.

When it comes to Vegas, the mantra is ''bigger, better.''

The 61-story Aria Resort and Casino opened Dec. 16, 2009 on the Vegas Strip, a 4,004-room, 61-story resort centerpiece of the $8.5 billion, 67-acre CityCenter complex.

Other elements of the complex are the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas,  Crystals (retail and entertainment district), Vdara Hotel and Spa (nongaming condo-hotel), the Harmon Hotel (will open at end of 2010) and the Veer Towers.

Combined, Aria and Vdara received three gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED categories included overall energy and water efficiency, use of recycled and sustainable materials and their focus on occupant health.

The CityCenter's 67-acre space dominates the Strip, and is larger than the ground acreage of the former Twin Towers in NYC.

CityCenter will produce its own energy through a reduced-emissions 8.5-megawatt, natural gas co-generation plant.

Technology used in water conservation programs will cut water usage 43 percent within the buildings and by 60 percent for outdoor landscaping.

Cirque du Soleil will celebrate the Aria opening in the resort's new 2,000-seat theater with a VIP premiere of ''Viva Elvis.'' The ''official'' Elvis premiere isn't until Feb. 19, 2010.

Architect Cesar Pelli designed the Aria buildings. The construction took five years. There were as many as 8,000 construction workers and 39 cranes on site at the peak of construction. An estimated 260,000 tons of construction waste, mostly from the razed Boardwalk hotel-casino, was reused or recycled during construction.

The Forest Stewardship Council-US honored CityCenter as the best commercial project of 2009 in its fifth annual Designing and Building awards. The project used FSC-certified wood products, plus supported FSC-certified companies, including 17 wood mills, 19 manufacturers and fabricators, 50 vendors and eight subcontractors.