Lifescapes, Inc.

Steve Wynn, C.E.O. of Mirage Resorts, Inc., had a vision to create a caribbean setting for Treasure Island, his family-oriented resort casino located in Las Vegas. Lifescapes, Inc., was retained as the project Landscape Architect to help bring this vision into reality. The firm's responsibility was to design the landscape environment for this truly unique project, however it turned out to be more involved than what we know as "traditional" design. It involved a thorough entertainment-oriented theatrical "set design."

The "main event" entry to the property is through the middle of Buccaneer Bay, a pirate village designed by the Jerde Partnership. Buccaneer Bay is the "stage" for a (mock) naval battle between a pirate ship and a British frigate, where as Steve Wynn says, "the pirates always win!". The landscape design was an integral part of the "stage" as it reinforced the thematic character of this fantasy caribbean pirate village. In addition to enhancing the whimsical character of the pirate village, the landscape also provided foreground to properly compose the village with the 31 story hotel tower beyond. The foreground was achieved by planting areas that were designed and installed along the edge of the rooftop all around Buccaneer Bay. High intensity lights behind the palms made them glow magnificently. In order to insure that the landscape was properly lit, Lifescapes worked closely with theatrical lighting designers David Hersey Associates (who also provided the lighting design for the Mirage.) The lighting for the landscape had to be in concert with the actual "show " event lighting as well.

Major components of the landscape design which helped to create the setting of a windswept caribbean village were the "tornado palms"- bent and twisted Mexican fan palms secured from White Tank Palms (see photo). Several hundred "tornado palms" were strate-gically placed in the landscape areas along with screening, understory and accent plantings including Aleppo pine, Japanese privet, and Crape myrtle trees. The "tornado palms" were actually bent and twisted as the result of being blown over by a tornado that touched down in the nursery fields where they were being grown. Lifescapes' Roger Voettiner was responsible for the planting design of Treasure Island and also located all the "tornado palms" at the nursery. According to Roger, "there are only a handful of people with Steve Wynn's level of vision. I feel very fortunate that we at Lifescapes were able to help him realize his vision for Treasure Island."

A tremendous coordination effort was required between all the design consultants involved with the project. There were many unusual design considerations that had to be worked out during the construction drawing phrase of the project as well. The weights of the planting areas had to be calculated so that the structural engineer could design the required supporting structures. Clearances between the "tornado palms" and all the architectural elements in the village, the British frigate that moved in front of the landsaped cliffs and the pyrotechnic effects all had to be worked out.

The construction phase of the project was yet another challenge for Lifescapes. The schedule was very fast paced and required close coordination between Marnell Corrao Associates, the general contractor, Botanical Specialties, the landscape contractor and numerous other specialty trades involved in the construction of Buccaneer Bay and the pirate show. Roger Voettiner was closely involved with the various contractors during construction in order to help insure that implementation of the original design was achieved and that the technical details were followed.

Treasure Island required LA's to blend traditional landscape architectural design skills, such as planting design, with several new aspects of design like theatrical set design and thematic rockwork design. After working on the project for almost two years and following its development from inception to installation, Lifescapes' project Landscape Architect Rocco Campanozzi said "it was a rewarding experience to watch the pirate show for the first time and see what an important part the landscape played in the show." LASN

Landscape Architects drew upon theatrical set design techniques in planning the many views of Buccaneer Bay. Real "tornado palms," artificial rock, and creative framing set the stage for the "main event" a mock naval battle between a pirate ship and a British frigate, where (adjacent page, bottom) "The pirates always win!"