Most people know right away when they arrive in Las Vegas. At night, it’s particularly awe inspiring to see the city lit up like the sun never set. But the glittery lights aren’t just reserved for the outside. Inside, the lights can be used to make a plain room come alive with drama and color. In the new Planet Hollywood Theatre of the Performing Arts, completed spring 2007, the interior design provides just as much fascination as the performances that happen on center stage.
Like most theaters, a performance begins and ends with a curtain. But for this theater, the curtain wasn’t the only thing being raised and lowered. Using an attachment method designed by the engineers at Cambridge Architectural, Cambridge, Md., 40 stainless steel metal mesh screens can be raised and lowered with the ease of a push of a button. This unique design allows for the theater to be changeable, creating a larger or smaller area depending on the needs of the theater. The screens vary in size from 10 feet (3 m) to 12 feet (3.7 m) in width and 13 feet (4 m) to 68 feet (21 m) in length and hang from 30 feet (9 m) to 56 feet (17 m) above the finish floor.
Lendall Mains Architect, Las Vegas, was the architectural firm on the project. “The inspiration behind using Cambridge’s metal mesh in the interior design was the durability, sheer quality of the mesh and the ‘cool’ factor of using metal mesh panels as dividers in the space,” said Lendall W. Mains, AIA, FCSI.
Part of the drama of the space includes the use of LEDs to light up the panels in various colors. According to Mains, the lighting “provides a dramatic lighting scheme that can change colors and sequences and almost seem to dance on the mesh.” This stunning visual effect is meant only for looks; it does not affect the acoustical properties of the theater-a key factor in design as the theater’s main goal is to house Broadway-style shows for long periods of time. One of the advantages to the metal mesh was that it allowed airflow to easily pass through without affecting the acoustics coming from the stage.
“The effect of the lighting design translucency quality compliment the space as a whole,” Mains said. “The lighting of the mesh screen was to give the space a dramatic entrance in the audience chamber prior to the show/performance. During the shows, the lighting of the mesh screen would dim to bring the audience an intimate feeling.”
Along with acoustical properties, the screens take advantage of very modern technology. They can be operated with ease from a touch-screen control system that requires very little training. Once the metal mesh panels are not needed, one push of a button and they roll up for concealed storage. This ease of operation allows the theater to go from a 7,500-seat to 2,800-seat theater to provide a more intimate setting. “Also, the metal mesh panels could be used as a screen to project images for upcoming shows/performances,” Mains said. “It could give the future users a backdrop for their show/performance.”
“This approach of downsizing a theater shows resourcefulness coupled with creativity,” said Design Awards judge Tony Cosentino. “The mesh, being a translucent appearing product, still achieves the goal with little or no impact on mechanical or acoustical systems.”
Fellow judge Mark Dewalt agreed. “The challenge of demising a theater into different size venues was brilliantly solved with metal mesh screens suspended from the ceiling,” he said. “Combined with the lighting, the mesh ‘wall’ creates a visual barrier but does not alter the acoustics of the theater.”
“The impression of the overall design is an awe-inspiring feeling when walking into the audience chamber that makes you marvel the space,” Mains said. “The metal mesh panels have surprisingly achieved more than what we had expected for the space with the help of the lighting effects and flexibility of raising and lowering the screens.”
Planet Hollywood Theatre of the Performing Arts, Las Vegas
Architect: Lendall Mains Architect, Las Vegas, (702) 437-5621
Design architect: Martinez & Johnson Architecture, Washington, D.C., www.mjarchitecture.com
General contractor: HOWA Construction, Salt Lake City, www.howa.com
Metal installer: Reliable Steel Inc., North Las Vegas, (702) 642-8390
Metal mesh system: Cambridge Architectural, Cambridge, Md., www.cambridgearchitectural.com
