Wynn’s Dreamscape

Editor, Steve Kelly

 

A 100 ft. mountain on the Strip! The hill, constructed of a series of retaining walls, secludes the Wynn Las Vegas from the busy street scene. Adorning the hill are over 1,500 trees. Some of the Aleppo pines reach 50 ft. There are eight coursing waterfalls putting out 44,000 gpm via Scott 100 hp pumps (each pumps 5,500 gpm). The largest drop is 75 feet into the three-acre lake. Both the main waterfall and lake have images projected on them to produce a show called “Lake of Dreams.” The lake comes aglow via 4,400 LED fixtures below the surface, programmed to create myriad colors, enhanced by music, imagery and horticulture for a multimedia sensory experience unique on the Strip.
Photos: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club (Wynn) is a $2.7 billion development by Steve Wynn, reportedly the world’s 277th-richest person. Who counts this stuff? Wynn Las Vegas is located at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Sands Avenue on the Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nev. Wynn Resorts also developed, owns and operates Encore, adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas and the Encore Wynn Macau, China.

Wynn Las Vegas covers 215 acres. There are 2,716 rooms, including 7,000 sq. foot villas for those desiring more privacy, a 2,087-seat showroom, an 18-hole championship golf course (Tommy Fazio design) and country club, the Lake of Dreams, a convention center, the Penske Wynn—a Ferrari and Maserati dealership for all your super car needs, an art gallery (Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Gauguin, Matisse, Cezanne and Picasso on display), nine fine-dining restaurants, six casual restaurants and six lounge bars, nightclub (“Tryst”), spa/salon, shopping, of course, and, you’ll never guess, a big casino! (Economic note: Las Vegas Strip revenue was $441.3 million in April, down 15.8% compared to a year ago.)

The southeast corner of the property was designed to give “outsiders” a sneak peak of what lies inside. The sights and sounds of the waterfall, the idyllic landscaping and a lakeside retail promenade draws people in.
Photo: Robert Miller, Wynn Las Vegas

Goodbye Desert Inn, Hello Wynn

The Wynn is on the site of the former grounds of the old Desert Inn (D.I.), just the fifth hotel/casino built on the Strip (opened April 24, 1950) and a seminal bit of Vegas history. Cleveland mob money built the D.I. and its capo, Moe Dalitz, ran the business behind the scenes. Enter Howard Hughes. The reclusive billionaire reserved the top two floors of the hotel for 10 days, beginning on Thanksgiving Day 1966. Hughes never left. When Hughes was informed, indirectly of course, that the hotel wanted the top floors back for its high rollers, Hughes did what he did best—bought the hotel, the first of many of his Vegas resort holdings.

The D.I. through the years featured the who’s who of entertainment. The 1960 film “Oceans Eleven” with Frank and the gang was shot at the Desert Inn, as was the TV series “Vega$.” The D.I. changed ownership several times and was renovated in 1997.

For its 50 anniversary on April 24, 2000, a time capsule was buried in a granite vault, with a grand opening on April 25, 2050. Three days after the anniversary, Steve Wynn bought the resort and its 18-hole golf course. The D.I. was demolished in stages to make way for Le Rêve (the dream), which opened instead with the developer’s name—Wynn Las Vegas. Note: The Wynn’s aquatic acrobatic show is now called Le Rêve.

The 18th hole features a 37-foot waterfall flowing at 11,000 gpm. Golf course designer Tom Fazio and Steve Wynn collaborated on the design of the 18-hole, par 70 course. Lifescapes International designed all the landscapes for the course, which included over 100,000 new shrubs, 4,600 lineal feet of stream, a 37-foot water fall adjacent to hole 18, 45-feet of elevation change from the #1 tee, two marshland areas using natural groundwater, nearly six miles of cart paths and roughly 1,200 existing trees salvaged and relocated from the former Desert Inn Golf Course, some more than 50 years old and over 60 feet tall. More than 800,000 cubic yards of earth were moved to create the dramatic elevation changes. The greens are Pennlinks bentgrass, built to USGA specs, with Tifway II hybrid bermuda for the fairways and tees. P.S. Playing 18 will cost you $500.
Photos: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

A Mountain for the Strip

In 2005, Wynn Las Vegas was the first new resort built on the Strip in five years.

Steve Wynn wanted to create seclusion for his resort, a neat trick for a property at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) and Sands Boulevard. How to block the view of the mall across the street? The landscape architecture firm Lifescapes International of Newport Beach, Calif. came up with the idea and design for a “mountain.” ValleyCrest constructing a 100-foot tall mountain from retaining walls (gabions), old concrete and steel mesh. Atop the mountain the landscape architect had planted thousands of Aleppo pines and shrubs. Eight magnificent waterfalls built into the mountain create a stunning backdrop for the inside of the property. The falls are going day and night and the pine tress illuminated at night. This virtual mountain has three internal elevators for maintenance.

This time out, Wynn wanted to draw people into the property to enjoy the “show,” unlike his previous efforts—Mirage volcano, Treasure Island pirate show and the Bellagio fountains. The show at Wynn Las Vegas revolves around the “Lake of Dreams.” When the sun goes down, the man-made lake dazzles guests and diners with multimedia presentations packed with pulsating music, lighting displays, puppetry, film and sculpture, all this at the foot of the water cascading mountain.

Five of the Wynn’s 20 eating establishments are on the lake, each with its own garden settings. An enclose garden with pomegranate trees detail the Chinese restaurant; water falls, lotus flowers, bamboo clusters and a majestic willow tree announce the Japanese restaurant. Gardens in the French, Spanish and English style further give the Wynn Las Vegas an international feel.

The glass enclosed, climate-controlled atrium at the north entrance features pedestal pottery and vivid salmon and rose-colored azaleas, yellow mums, hundreds of Cymbidium orchids (green and rose hues) and lime-colored coleus plants. Ninety colorful lifelike-flower globes decorate the 13 mature ficus trees.
Photos: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

Atrium

The half-acre climate-controlled interior atrium at the north entrance offered special challenges. ValleyCrest had to crane in 13 majestic, fully-grown ficus trees through an opening in the roof. It took the largest cranes available in the U.S. to accomplish theses tricky maneuverings and tree replantings. And it had to be done right the first time. Once the roof was closed, that was it. The ficus trees are adorned with 90 globe-shaped flower baskets. The opening day was a feast of landscape colors:

The interior flowerbeds were masses of vivid salmon and rose colored azaleas, yellow mums, hundreds of Cymbidium orchids (green and rose hues), and lime colored coleus plants.

At the north porte cochere, a larger-than-life bronze horse, created by an artist friend of Mr. Wynn, is not prancing on natural turf. To conserve on irrigation, over 156,000 sq. ft. of artificial turf was installed throughout the property. When used, all irrigation is of the drip variety.
Photo: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

The Oases

Yes, Vegas is a desert, but the Wynn not only offers eight waterfalls and lakes but 18 pools. The main four-acre pool area presents five pools on two elevations, featuring two-story cabanas to service the general guests and the tower suite guests.

These pools have room for about 2,000 aquanauts. A canal pool attaches two of the pools. Three elevated walkways allow people to walk over the pools. Other pools are for the guests in the suites and those with fairway views. The “oh, la la” pool allows the ladies the freedom to go topless.

The outdoor patio of the Italian seafood restaurant (Bartolotta di Mare) combines contemporary art forms (silver colored orbs), a compelling water garden of lotus, water lilies and ferns and a backdrop of a mountainous pine forest. A number of restaurants have décor and landscaping in keeping with the native country. An enclose garden and pomegranate trees detail the Chinese restaurant, for instance.
Photo: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

LASN spoke with Brian Chesnut, ValleyCrest construction manager, Las Vegas and Joe Mallon, pools operations manager. ValleyCrest has a 20 plus years working history with Steve Wynn and Lifescapes International. ValleyCrest was tasked with building the “mountain” (series of retaining walls), constructing the18 pools, installing the landscaping and irrigation.

Steve Wynn is known for his active involvement and attention to detail in the look of his developments. He wanted custom tile mosaics for the pools, which found the ValleyCrest crew busily smashing tiles and piecing together blue weave mosaic patterns. He also wanted a special design for the pool handrails. The stainless steel handrails at the Wynn pools are unique. Such custom work and detail, along with building mountains, constructing pools, installing irrigation and moving large trees, is what ValleyCrest can deliver.

Steve Wynn paid a huge compliment to the company: “For the past 20 years, I have trusted no other construction company to see my visions come to life but ValleyCrest.”

This waterfall graces the Japanese garden of wispy willow trees, water lilies, a forest of bamboo and sago palms. Gardens in the French, Spanish and English style further give the Wynn Las Vegas an international feel. Waterfalls are everywhere. Tryst, the main club, has a 45-ft. waterfall and lake in the middle of the club.
Photo: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

Sub-Head

Lifescapes International of Newport Beach, Calif. was the landscape architect for the project. Don Brinkerhoff, CEO, his wife, Barbara, daughter Julie and their crew “lived the job 24-7,” designing the landscapes for the mountain, waterfalls, golf course, atrium and planting beds. The landscape architect delivered a dazzling plant palette across the 20-acre landscape, accenting the greenery surrounding the resort. Colorful flowers are planted as a separation between synthetic turf and shrub areas. There are dazzling displays of flowers indoors, with podocarpus trees lining the walkways.

Going by the numbers, the Wynn has 5,000 large specimen trees, over 100,000 shrubs, and 200,000 annual color plants.

Many of the mature pines were relocated from the old Desert Inn golf some so large that no public road permit would have been allowed. Over 150 trees were “recycled” within the new resort.

The four-acre main pool area features “European bathing,” aka tops optional. There are five pools here, a poolside bar, pine trees, topiary, vine-covered arbors and shady cabanas throughout.
Photo: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

As is true with other projects designed for Steve Wynn, the design teams were closely involved with the developer, his representatives, the construction and show teams, consultants and retail and restaurant reps. One of the many Steve touches came about when he appraised the stately ficus nitidas lining the front entrance. He didn’t like the drab gray color of the tree trunks. The landscape architects came up with a safe, vegetable-based dye to apply to the trunks, providing a more pleasing darker hue.

Each of the Fairway Villas bordering the golf course has a private infinity edge pool and garden appointed with annual color and mature shade trees. Steve Wynn didn’t want “off the rack” handrails for his pools. The stainless steel handrails for all the Wynn pools were custom designed and are unique.
Photo: Robert Miller, Wynn Las Vegas

Other interesting offerings are over 40 topiary sculptures, verdant arbors (most grown two years in advance of opening day) placed along the north porte cochére and at the main pool areas.

While the Wynn’s 18 pools don’t bring to mind water-conservation, the irrigation and “turf” do. All irrigation is drip fertigation, even the trees and shrubs on the mountain. The golf course is turf, but there’s no natural grass elsewhere. There is 156,000 sq. ft. of artificial turf, a specification to withstand pedestrian traffic and save on irrigation.

This $50 million landscape achievement represents the efforts of thousands of installers, contractors, and designers committing fully to team participation. It opened on time, April 28, 2005.

Two story cabanas open onto their respective pool areas. The custom mosaic wave pattern tiling really makes this pool stand out. The sculpted plants in the decorative pottery add a formal touch.
Photo: Scott Forst, Lifescapes International, Inc.

Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club

Landscape Architects: Lifescapes International, Inc., Newport Beach, Calif.
Conceptual Designer: Senior Principal Donald Brinkerhoff, FASLA, CEO, founder
Landscape Designer/Color Consultant: Barbara Brinkerhoff, co-founder
Corporate Communications: Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs, President, CFO
Project Administration: Daniel Trust, Senior Principal
Project Designer/Art Director: Roger Voettiner
Field Observation Specialist: Rocco Campanozzi
Field Services: Berj Behesnilian
Project Manager/Designer: Naresh (Nick) Patel

Owner: Steve Wynn, Chairman & CEO, Wynn Resorts
President: Andrew Pascal
Management Co./Overall Design Development:
Tod Nisbet, Wynn Resorts
Executive V-P, Design: Roger Thomas,
Executive V-P, Architecture: DeRuyter Butler
Concept Architecture: The Jerde Partnership
Interior Designer, Wynn Design and Development: Roger Thomas
Golf Course Design: Tom Fazio, Steve Wynn
& Lifescapes International
Executive Director, Horticulture, Wynn Las Vegas: Jim Gibbons
Contractor: ValleyCrest
Construction Management: Marnell Corrao
Star Nursery, Henderson, Nev.