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MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino01-20-25 | Feature

MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino

Elevating the Landscape of Entertainment
by Mike Dahl, LASN (with introduction by Mahan Rykiel)

Setting up shop in the flourishing National Harbor development district in Prince George's County, Maryland, MGM Resorts set out to create a $1.5 billion mixed-use entertainment venue that is a more substantive place, unlike typical casino environments that tend to be, in the owners' opinion, more artifice. The site's outdoor area includes nearly ten acres of softscape, numerous outdoor terraces and original modern sculptures, a two-acre fountain deck, and arrival courts for both the hotel and the casino. Mahan Rykiel Associates - a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with an office in Baltimore, Maryland - was tasked with designing all exterior public and amenity spaces as well as the entrance areas. PHOTO CREDIT: MGM NATIONAL HARBOR
The hotel's arrival plaza's Porte Coch??re at the eastern terminus of the project circles a 180-foot-wide planting bed where a custom-designed sculpture by John Safer titled 'Unity' stands. The sculpture comprises three 60-foot-tall, stainless-steel figures that rotate 270 degrees from their base, with satin and polished finished surfaces. PHOTO CREDIT: MGM NATIONAL HARBOR
The final build-out of the West Casino Terrace provides guests with a variety of entertainment options, like the dramatic fountain. This feature was supervised by design-build firm Fountains by Water Works from Ashton, Maryland who prepared the site and then furnished and installed all the plumbing, conduit, lighting, concrete, metal fittings, waterproofing, and fountain equipment. PHOTO CREDIT: MGM NATIONAL HARBOR
A private hotel pool deck is tucked away on the east corner of the infinity pool (background, right). The area features an Ipe wood deck with lounge seating, as well as private cabanas and additional lounge space for guests of the hotel.
Lush planting throughout the site is meant to offer seasonal interest all year. On the landscaped roof deck area near the back of the property, Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) and Cotoneaster are in the foreground. Lilyturf (Liriope), Knock Out Roses (Rosa 'Knock Out'), a London Plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), and two Dogwood trees (Cornus) were planted on the other side of the concrete pathway. On the upper right is an LED screen wall.
The design team worked with internationally renowned artist Alice Aycock on the creation of a custom sculpture. The 77-foot-long, 14-foot-tall aluminum piece named 'Whirlpools' is a nod to the Potomac River, which flows close to the development. This and other works of art were commissioned to enhance the visual experience of the resort. Precast concrete curbs were made from normal-weight concrete with a compressive strength not less than 6,000 psi and water absorption not more than five percent in different shapes and sizes. The lighting for the project was designed and installed by another subcontractor. PHOTO CREDIT: BRYAN DUNN, MAHAN RYKIEL ASSOCIATES
Steel planters of various sizes in the color 'pewter' highlight this area. They have a ?-inch cladding with a horizontal-brushed finish and include self-watering systems. Inside these planters are Begonias, Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides), and Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica). Here, concrete pavers were specified to have a compressive strength of 5,000 psi or more and water absorption of five percent or less, according to ASTM C 140.
One hundred and forty-four Hightower Willow Oak (Quercus phellos 'Hightower') trees were installed adjacent to the street. Select Trees from Oglethorpe County, Georgia provided these patented hybrids.
The resort's Potomac Plaza is meant to remain inviting, even when in limited use, with its fountain jets and the LED screen wall on the rear of the prominent MGM sign. Mexican beach pebbles and three-to-five-inch rounded river rocks accent some of the planted areas.
The curved walls are all cast-in-place, white-colored concrete. They not only retain the soil, plants, and turf that create the tiers, but they also serve as seats. Over two-and-a-half acres of Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) was planted on this project, which involved installing the soil, rough grading the area to bring it to the desired elevation and percent of slope for drainage, and fine grading the area.

Situated along the Potomac River and adjacent to the Capital Beltway, MGM National Harbor - a $1.5 billion, mixed-use resort - is the newest addition to the booming National Harbor development district. For this project, the owners set out to challenge the traditional stereotype that casino environments are more artifice than they are substantive places.

The vast softscape is composed of ten acres of a large array of plants and trees - a carefully curated selection of native and highly adaptive tree and plant species that is irrigated with rainwater and condensate-fed cisterns. The hardscape includes a two-acre fountain deck, numerous outdoor dining terraces, arrival courts for both the hotel and the casino, a deck for the pool, and ballroom terraces. All of this is neatly organized, balancing the monumental with elegant restraint. Roughly 80% of the occupiable outdoor site is located on the structure and inspired by Washington D.C.'s "Monumental Core," which includes the U.S. Capitol grounds, Arlington National Cemetery, and the National Mall along with other cultural structures, memorials, and landmarks. The formality of the architecture is designed to echo the rhythm and geometry of the landscape. Each of the resort's spaces deserved mastery, not only of architectural style, but also of the complexities associated with constructing occupiable space on the structure.

The Landscape Architects
Mahan Rykiel Associates - the Landscape Architect design team from Baltimore, Maryland - was responsible for all exterior amenity spaces, including the North, South, and casino terraces, the hotel pool deck, and the entry sequences to the hotel and the casino. The sculptural works also required detailed collaboration with internationally renowned artists.

Putting Down the Foundation
A variety of hardscape materials was used to create the surface areas of the project. Precast concrete pavers were set in either aggregate and sand or beds of bituminous material or mortar. Stone pavers were also installed along with precast concrete curbs and natural stone curbs. Steel edge restraints hold everything in place. Additional materials include river rocks, crushed stone aggregate, and stone dust.

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The concrete pavers were solid units with a compressive strength not less than 5,000 psi, water absorption not more than five percent (ASTM C 140), not more than one percent mass loss, and no breakage when tested for freeze-thaw resistance (ASTM C 67). The size of the squared-edge pavers installed in the field were 24 inches by 48 inches with a thickness of two-and-a-half inches. Custom-sized pavers were either factory cut or field cut to achieve the design intent. For the casino terraces, some pavers were 24 inches by 36 inches and three inches thick. The Casino Terrace field comprises 12-inch-by-36-inch pavers with the same thickness. Vehicular areas like the hotel drop-off were surfaced 12-inch-by-12-inch pavers for the field, four-inch-by-four-inch pavers with a Tudor finish, and 24-inch-by-48-inch pavers. All were three inches thick. Stamped concrete was also used in the hotel drop-off, the casino drop-off, and the outside food venue. Crosswalks were created with a running bond of four-inch-by-four-inch-by-three-inch pavers installed perpendicular to the flow of traffic. Natural stone pavers at 12 inches wide, 24 inches long, and ? 3/4 inches thick make up the pool deck.

Greening the Grounds
A flourishing softscape greets visitors with a wide variety of trees and plants that are either native or highly adaptive to the local environs. The flora is irrigated with collected rainwater stored in cisterns.

One of the most striking features is the bank of 81 Yoshino Cherry Trees (Prunus x yedoensis) in commemoration of Washington, D.C.'s famous stands of Japanese Cherry trees first planted along the Tidal Basin in 1910. After an infestation that followed the first batch of trees from Japan, the originals were destroyed and replaced in 1912 with healthy trees that still bloom today. More cherry trees have been added through the years, and now there are more than 3,750 of them in the D.C. area.

Along the resort's streetscape are 144 Hightower Willow Oak trees (Quercus phellos 'Hightower'). These patented hybrids came from Select Trees nursery in Oglethorpe, Georgia.

Shrubs included more than 6,000 Coral Beauty Cotoneasters (Cotoeaster dammeri 'Coral Beauty'), 1,500 Dense Spreading Yew (Taxus x media 'Densiformis'), and 1,100 Cherry Laurels (Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken'). Coral Bells (Heuchera villosa 'Autumn Bride'), Yellow Daylillies (Hemerocallis 'Mary Todd'), and St. John's Wort (Hypericum calycinum) are just a few of the perennials installed. The ground cover encompassed a large planting of Spreading Lilyturf (Liriope spicata), Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'), and a mix of feather grasses, reed grasses, switchgrasses, fountain grasses, sedge, and other ground cover types.

Furnishing the Site
Endowing the expansive outdoor areas with amenities was another of Mahan Rykiel's responsibilities. High-end, commercially-rated hospitality furnishings were specified and installed. This included benches, litter and recycle receptacles, ash receptacles, stainless steel planters, bollards, a fireplace, and built-in seating on the pool deck. All these items were specified by the Landscape Architect. The contractor, Ruppert Landscaping, developed an action submittal that was closely followed.

There are four different types of benches, including a backed single bench with Ipe wood slats for the back and seat on A36 carbon steel with stainless steel armrests. These benches were surface mounted with vandal-resistant anchors. Another type is similar to the one mentioned above, except it is a double bench. A third type is backless, also with Ipe wood slats for the seats applied to precast concrete. The fourth type of bench features a simple geometry that combines concrete and tropical wood slats. It is available in lengths of two or three meters, is backed or backless, and allows LED lighting to be incorporated under the seat.

The fireplace components, specifications, and construction drawings were provided by a licensed manufacturer and installer of exterior, gas-operated fireplaces. It features lava rock and a burner that meets ANSI Z21.97 certification requirements.

Pewter-colored, stainless-steel planters of various sizes came with a 1/8-inch horizontal brushed finish. The plants installed in them are irrigated by self-watering systems. Bollards across the site were the Classic 3C1 model that are round with a steel finish.

Elevated Outcomes
The result of the exacting efforts and dedication of the design team brought a stunning, environment-friendly, mixed-use development to fruition in Maryland's Capital Beltway area.

MGM National Harbor skillfully blends art, landscape, and architecture in a site solution that is as emotive as it is inspiring and functional.

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