The The Crystals shopping centre stands like a “jewel” on the Las Vegas Strip. Behind its design is the renowned architecture practice Studio Daniel Libeskind, which worked with Rockwell Group on the interior design and with Focus Lighting on the lighting design.
The interior of the building, a structurally complex shell, is striking both for its form and for its lighting. It took three years, with hundreds of drawings, studies, models and full-scale mock-ups, to realise this complex lighting scheme.
Luminous “slits” create a play of shadows on the surfaces of the shopping centre’s interior walls, reinforcing the architectural form of the building. These “slits” of light come from recesses in the ceiling, in which theatrical metal halide luminaires with shades have been installed.
Similar accent spotlights are also used to highlight specific decorative elements inside the shopping centre.
A further 1,000 LED luminaires have been installed in recesses in the walls and ceiling; their role is to light the space, giving it different hues over the course of the day.
The central staircase stands out as a feature of the interior. Its risers are clad in pink agate and lit from behind with LEDs.
The exterior of The Crystals is just as impressive. The façade and the roof are clad in a specially treated ribbed metal, which reflects the light in ripples.
Double-beam floodlights have been placed around the perimeter of the building, while a dedicated study was carried out for the outdoor courtyard to light the walkways, the bridges and the sculptural objects that adorn the space.
Finally, Focus also produced an impressive design for the shopping centre’s sign, inspired by the artist Braque, lighting the acrylic letters from behind with blue LEDs and using white LEDs to “trace” the outline.
The approach of concealing the light sources that Focus Lighting followed in its design is truly remarkable, and difficult to carry out in a project of this size.
