The newest addition to the Las Vegas area, The M Resort and Casino, sits on approximately 80 acres (32 hectares) in Henderson, Nev., just off Las Vegas Boulevard, south of the Strip. The resort features 390 rooms; 35 suites; 91,000square feet (8,454 m2) of casino area; a 70,000- square-foot (6,503-m2) convention area; a 16,000-square-foot (1,486-m2) health spa and salon; five restaurants; four bars; an entertainment venue; retail outlets; a 40,000-square-foot (3,716-m2) pool area; and various other five-star amenities. The building reaches 400 feet (122 m) higher than the heart of the Strip, offering breathtaking views of the iconic skyline.
According to Tom Richardson, project manager with the general contractor, Marnell Corrao Associates, Las Vegas, the hotel has much more of a resort feel than most other casinos and it caters to locals in the southern area of the Las Vegas Valley.
“The hotel features lots of glass to bring in natural light coupled with great views of the Strip; restaurant terraces for outdoor covered dining; soothing water features; a gorgeous pool area; and natural materials, such as marble, travertine and zinc throughout,” Richardson said.
The building’s unique design called for a coping cap system in preweathered Anthra Zinc. Asheville,N.C.-based W.P. Hickman engineered the custom 0.04-inch (1-mm) preweathered black coping, using Anthra Zinc from Umicore Building Products USA Inc., Raleigh, N.C. The high-profile job required meticulous detailing and engineered custom details and shop drawings were produced in very specific detail with an extensive manufacturing breakdown to ensure that the coping system was designed, manufactured and installed flawlessly.
In one area, the wall width of the coping spanned 52 inches (1,321 mm), and Hickman’s engineers determined that the cap would stretch, relax and subsequently disengage from a standard cleat.The engineering team came up with a way to solve the problem by designing a custom front spring that would meet the ANSI/SPRI ES-1 standard. Hickman has a pull-testing apparatus at its headquarters,allowing engineers to make adjustments to product designs for optimal performance. The RE-3 pull test required for coping in the ANSI/SPRI ES-1 standard was performed in-house.
According to Richardson, the hotel features approximately 4,000 linear feet (1,219 m) of preweathered zinc wall caps and copings to match the fascia and soffit panels around the exterior and interior of the building.
“The zinc panels and copings are an integral part of the resort’s overall design and resort feel,” Richardson said.
Additionally, the project features a unitized panel curtainwall system from Cleveland-based Midwest Curtainwalls Inc., and installed by Heinaman Contract Glazing, Las Vegas. The custom curtainwall system was designed to have special “air fl ow” vertical mullions to bring fresh air to the hotel room mechanical units, according to Don Kelly, president of Midwest Curtainwalls. The 150,000-square-foot(13,935-m2) curtainwall system included 1,700 curtainwall units.
Heinaman also fabricated an exterior storefront,which was a combination of extruded aluminum from Arcadia Architectural Products Inc., Stamford, Conn., bronze glass from Viracon Inc., Owatonna,Minn., and Luxar antireflective glass by Glas Trösch AG HY-TECH-GLASS, Bützberg, Switzerland. The low-rise portion of the building features approximately 34,000 square feet (3,159 m2) of exterior glass, of which approximately 26,000 square feet (2,415 m2) is aluminum-framed and the rest is an engineered,point-supported system without framing.
Bemo USA Corp., Mesa, Ariz., designed, engineered and fabricated more than 70,000 square feet (6,503 m2) of a custom horizontal tongue-and groovewall system utilizing 0.05-inch- (1.25-mm-) thick Umicore Anthra Zinc. The panels were installed on vertical fascias, beam wraps and inverted angled fascias throughout the resort complex.
Mequon, Wis.-based Super Sky Products Inc. provided a number of aluminum-framed skylights over the main lobby and port cochere, in addition to the general public promenade. Super Sky also provided a point-supported sloping glass canopy atthe porte cochere. Oldcastle Glass, Santa Monica, Calif., supplied the tower blue glass.
Marnell Architecture, Las Vegas, was the architect; Ron Cole, Elite Architectural Products LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz., was the coping distributor; and Southland Industries, Las Vegas, was the coping installer.
Arcadia Architectural Products Inc.
Glas Trösch AG HY-TECH-GLASS
Midwest Curtainwalls Inc.
Oldcastle Glass,
Super Sky Products Inc.
Umicore Building Products USA Inc.
Viracon Inc.
W.P. Hickman
