Whether an artificial environment excludes the blistering heat of the desert sun, like "Sam's Town" Atrium Park in Las Vegas, NV, or the opposite extreme, as at the Mall of America which houses Knott's "Camp Snoopy" in Bloomington, MN, it encloses irrigation water and evaporated moisture at the same time. So, unless you want to create the atmosphere of a greenhouse or tropical rainforest, you may need to go as far as involving an HVAC systems engineer to determine how to manage the humidity generated by the water volume, especially if you want a waterfall or two -- or seven! -- like Las Vegas' "Sam's Town."
The 10-story, 24,000-square-foot interior park -- one-half acre under glass -- surrounded by hotel rooms known as "Sam's Town" in Las Vegas creates a functional park experience and oasis setting within an interior space away from other hotel activities entirely supported by drip irrigation, said Chuck Saladino, ASLA, of Cella Barr Associates, consultants to the architect-builder Marnell Corrao Associates. Eighty-seven evergreen and deciduous trees from 6 to 38 feet tall (including the first redwoods used in an atrium space in quantity) and 4,102 shrubs, groundcovers, and annual flowers are contained within a light compensating glass roof that allows photosynthesis to occur. A registered agricultural and civil engineer who specializes in landscape irrigation, Aqua Engineering's Rick Aust, PE, described the reverse osmosis treatment system that reduces detrimental salts in the municipal water supply. Blending the expensively treated water with untreated water before application to plant material not only minimizes treatment costs, but utilizes plant nutrients available in the city water, effectively reducing salts as much as 75% while saving a percentage of needed nutrients. A fertilizer injection system provides nutrients and minerals to all plants during irrigation cycles for proper growth, augmenting the drip irrigation system which aids in water conservation and quality horticultural practices for all plants. For proper growth of evergreens and maples, a soil cooling system using tube coils around the rootballs, holds soil temperatures at 65 degrees Farenheit.
Even as the design of interior landscaped areas are becoming more sophisticated and their support more feasible technologically, innovative configurations of interior landscape areas are not without associated liabilities. Planting areas that are small and irregularly shaped, for instance, represent a significant problem when it comes to irrigation overspray. "With relatively heavy foot traffic and extensive hours of occupancy on any given day, wet floors in interior areas can be an accident waiting to happen," said Salco Products, Inc.'s Sam Tobey who, not surprisingly, advocates one approach to minimizing this problem: using drip irrigation.
However, as with any other irrigation system, effective, long-term operation of a drip irrigation system is extremely sensitive to the system design, installation, and maintenance. According to McRae "Mac" Anderson, president and principal designer at McCaren Designs, Inc., which designed the interiorscaping irrigation for Knott's "Camp Snoopy" in Bloomington, MN, and was also involved in installation and maintenance of the landscape and irrigation, the entire irrigation system has been operating now for about three years with the operators and maintenance personnel yet to report a problem with the drip irrigation system. The seven-acre amusement center interiorscape features more than 100 relatively small irregularly shaped planting areas. The more than 30,000 tropical plants and shrubs in these small areas, including 400 large trees and a large number of seasonal florals, require more than 54,000 individual emitters to satisfy the water requirements of the plants and trees, fed from a three-inch water line with a line pressure of about 70 psi, while keeping the water off the pedestrian areas.
"Marble can be particularly 'slippery when wet,' but drip irrigation has been used successfully for the irrigation of interior planting areas in hotels, airport terminals, indoor amusement parks, and the like," commented Salco's Tobey. "Though drip irrigation may be a more expensive approach initially, the choice may result in a considerable cost savings when one considers the potential liability associated with wet floor areas," he said. Indeed, citing projects in operation that were installed over 25 years ago (some in fairly severe environments), Tobey believes that "given good design and installation practices, there is no reason that this couldn't be the rule rather than the exception."
At Knott's Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, McCaren Designs re-created a native Minnesota woodland on seven indoor acres within a massive, cold, steel structure. Each specimen tree was necessarily placed and pruned to preserve the "rider-safety envelope" for a roller-coaster, swing ride, and 23 other rides. Likewise, the irrigation system was placed out of reach with first-story plantings irrigated by drip and second-floor plantings by Monalink systems.
Photos provided courtesy of McCaren Designs, Inc.
Photos provided courtesy of Salco Products, Inc.
The atrium park at "Sam's Town Hotel, Gambling Hall and Bowling Center" in Las Vegas, NV, which features a 42-foot high water fall, separate water feature fed by a six waterfalls, and 4,200 plants and trees -- including redwoods, is irrigated with treated water delivered entirely by a drip irrigation system.
Rendering provided courtesy of Cella Barr Associates.
The Landscape Architect enlisted the assistance of agricultural engineers for design of an irrigation water treatment system for the 10-story atrium landscape at "Sam's Town Hotel, Gambling Hall and Bowling Center" in Las Vegas, NV.
Photos provided courtesy of Cella Barr Associates.