Architecture firm headquartered in Las Vegas expands to Macau: From sushi bars to casino VIP rooms
From sushi bar décor blended with Mongolian and Japanese cultures to casino VIP rooms incorporated with Feng Shui features, US architect Mr Cray Bauxmont-Flynn and interior designer Ms Nicola Greenaway, are bringing their unique ideas to Macau’s art landscape.
The international architecture firm YWS has set up an office in Macau just some months ago, but eye-catching projects are already rolling out one after another. Sharing their experience of these innovative ventures with Macau Daily Times, Mr. Bauxmont-Flynn, Director of Interior Design, and Ms. Greenaway, the Regional Director of Operations, stressed the importance of characteristic.
“There are many sushi bars here, so how do you make your shop an impressive one, to let people enjoy their stay and come back again and again? Interior design plays an important role here,” explains Bauxmont-Flynn.
And it is in this character searching that they found their inspiration – the introduction of Mongolian elements into the Japanese culture base that gives rise to the global sushi boom. This unique blending was manifested through a carefully directed set of patterns and cracks, decorating the walls of the sushi bar named “Kou”, a new venue in Macau that is opening this September. The images typical of Mongolia and Japan, such as calligraphic characters and patterns can be observed from different angles and distances, offering visitors and customers a chance for an imaginative interpretation of the visual effects on top of their dinning experience.
When asked if the structure of the restaurant, consisting of a ground floor area and a basement, would create any difficulties in their works, the pair said it was quite the contrary: “It’s an extra space to exercise your professional skills.” They connected the floors and the spaces through a stretch of stylish décor and lighting to coordinate with the setting of the shop to generate a stylish ambiance throughout the space, in both the upper and lower floors. The architects’ innovations are also manifested in other projects such as T.E. Pub and BOA Steakhouse (see photos).
Talking about another recent piece de resistance in Macau—a set of VIP rooms on MGM’s casino floor–the architect and designer said the project was equally challenging given the fact that the casino already has an expansive floor of gaming tables and a VIP room. But then gaming facilities is one of YWS’s major categories of expertise, along with residential and commercial facilities, and the experienced inventors came up with a new idea – Feng Shui.
Literally meaning “wind and water”, the Chinese traditional Feng Shui system studies the laws of the functioning of heaven and earth as a means to make use of the positive elements of the surrounding environment to help improve life. Throughout Chinese history, Feng Shui has been widely used to orient buildings and other structures in an auspicious manner, by adjusting the elements related to water, earth (soil), metal, wood, fire (heat), and other natural conditions such as the seasons, directions and lights.
For many Chinese, an auspicious touch is of utmost importance in the process of gambling, and the designers find the right place to introduce Feng Shui elements. The project consists of six VIP rooms and, to let Feng Shui play a part, the designers devised an elliptical ceiling decorated with circular rings and movable settings are incorporated into the space to bring life and energy into the rooms.
These rooms are made to accommodate many visitors, just like all other casino VIP rooms in Macau, including millionaire businessmen or senior government officials from the Mainland.
But Greenaway stressed that while this fact was in their knowledge, they also put a lot of emphasis on other non-gaming elements such as dining, shopping and entertainment facilities that are essential for a successful casino resort. This is what the Macau government has been striving for, in what the authority has called “diversification” of a gaming-centered economy.
“A resort casino development that blends its boundaries with the surrounding city will be beneficial to both entities. The shared experience shouldn’t be seen as drawing the casino customer away from the gaming floor. On the contrary, it should be seen as providing other opportunities to extend their stay. This can be done with due responsibility for the impact of their designs on natural resources,” YWS says of its casino design philosophy.
YWS is headquartered in Las Vegas, but with offices in major Asian cities. As architects with extensive experience across Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, the pair said Macau casinos are more willing to invest in architectural and décor beauty, and they are confident that their unique concepts and creativity will bring much to the scene, from the outer to the inner look. They are not worried about the recent decline in casino revenue growth.
Speaking on the architectural landscape as a whole, the architects said Macau is actually a freer place to exercise an architect’s imagination. “There are too many stringent rules and regulations back in the US, whether for safety or other reasons, or regulating for regulation’s sake,” Bauxmont-Flynn said, but Macau seems to allow more space for creative ideas in the architectural field, where Portuguese and Chinese cultures in both architecture and other forms of arts nicely blend through centuries of history and bring about an unique cultural environment.
The international architecture firm YWS has set up an office in Macau just some months ago, but eye-catching projects are already rolling out one after another. Sharing their experience of these innovative ventures with Macau Daily Times, Mr. Bauxmont-Flynn, Director of Interior Design, and Ms. Greenaway, the Regional Director of Operations, stressed the importance of characteristic.
“There are many sushi bars here, so how do you make your shop an impressive one, to let people enjoy their stay and come back again and again? Interior design plays an important role here,” explains Bauxmont-Flynn.
And it is in this character searching that they found their inspiration – the introduction of Mongolian elements into the Japanese culture base that gives rise to the global sushi boom. This unique blending was manifested through a carefully directed set of patterns and cracks, decorating the walls of the sushi bar named “Kou”, a new venue in Macau that is opening this September. The images typical of Mongolia and Japan, such as calligraphic characters and patterns can be observed from different angles and distances, offering visitors and customers a chance for an imaginative interpretation of the visual effects on top of their dinning experience.
When asked if the structure of the restaurant, consisting of a ground floor area and a basement, would create any difficulties in their works, the pair said it was quite the contrary: “It’s an extra space to exercise your professional skills.” They connected the floors and the spaces through a stretch of stylish décor and lighting to coordinate with the setting of the shop to generate a stylish ambiance throughout the space, in both the upper and lower floors. The architects’ innovations are also manifested in other projects such as T.E. Pub and BOA Steakhouse (see photos).
Talking about another recent piece de resistance in Macau—a set of VIP rooms on MGM’s casino floor–the architect and designer said the project was equally challenging given the fact that the casino already has an expansive floor of gaming tables and a VIP room. But then gaming facilities is one of YWS’s major categories of expertise, along with residential and commercial facilities, and the experienced inventors came up with a new idea – Feng Shui.
Literally meaning “wind and water”, the Chinese traditional Feng Shui system studies the laws of the functioning of heaven and earth as a means to make use of the positive elements of the surrounding environment to help improve life. Throughout Chinese history, Feng Shui has been widely used to orient buildings and other structures in an auspicious manner, by adjusting the elements related to water, earth (soil), metal, wood, fire (heat), and other natural conditions such as the seasons, directions and lights.
For many Chinese, an auspicious touch is of utmost importance in the process of gambling, and the designers find the right place to introduce Feng Shui elements. The project consists of six VIP rooms and, to let Feng Shui play a part, the designers devised an elliptical ceiling decorated with circular rings and movable settings are incorporated into the space to bring life and energy into the rooms.
These rooms are made to accommodate many visitors, just like all other casino VIP rooms in Macau, including millionaire businessmen or senior government officials from the Mainland.
But Greenaway stressed that while this fact was in their knowledge, they also put a lot of emphasis on other non-gaming elements such as dining, shopping and entertainment facilities that are essential for a successful casino resort. This is what the Macau government has been striving for, in what the authority has called “diversification” of a gaming-centered economy.
“A resort casino development that blends its boundaries with the surrounding city will be beneficial to both entities. The shared experience shouldn’t be seen as drawing the casino customer away from the gaming floor. On the contrary, it should be seen as providing other opportunities to extend their stay. This can be done with due responsibility for the impact of their designs on natural resources,” YWS says of its casino design philosophy.
YWS is headquartered in Las Vegas, but with offices in major Asian cities. As architects with extensive experience across Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, the pair said Macau casinos are more willing to invest in architectural and décor beauty, and they are confident that their unique concepts and creativity will bring much to the scene, from the outer to the inner look. They are not worried about the recent decline in casino revenue growth.
Speaking on the architectural landscape as a whole, the architects said Macau is actually a freer place to exercise an architect’s imagination. “There are too many stringent rules and regulations back in the US, whether for safety or other reasons, or regulating for regulation’s sake,” Bauxmont-Flynn said, but Macau seems to allow more space for creative ideas in the architectural field, where Portuguese and Chinese cultures in both architecture and other forms of arts nicely blend through centuries of history and bring about an unique cultural environment.
Comments
Post a Comment