Moving beyond the drawing board

Las Vegas' architecture is evolving to a serious stage that is catching professional attention.

At least it has caught the attention of a French architect studying desert cities of the world.

Francois Gillet visited Las Vegas earlier this month as part of an international study of cities in the desert. His travels also took him to the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

"Las Vegas is growing as a city and it is developing some serious architecture for things likes government centers and libraries," he said. "In the past, the city had what I would call La-La Land architecture -- fake cities, castles and pyramids on the Strip."

Gillet points to the Clark County Government Center, 500 South Grand Central Parkway, as a prime example of architecture at its best in Las Vegas.

"Las Vegas became a city only very recently," Gillet said. "It has gone 40 years without really considering what public facilities it might need. Since people keep coming here because of the possibility that they may find work ... people now have to consider Las Vegas a major city."

Las Vegas architect Craig Galati agrees with Gillet's findings.

"I think we really have entered a new stage of architecture, and there are a variety of reasons for it. As Las Vegas has become a bigger city, we have attracted more high-quality developers. Also for years there was a mind- set in Las Vegas that went like this: 'Sure the economy is good now, but where will we be in 10 years?' Buildings were built with that mind-set. That's not the case anymore."

Keith Eggener, an assistant professor of architecture at UNLV, said the changes that are taking place in Las Vegas architecture are almost an inevitable result of growth.

"Is Las Vegas maturing as an architectural site? It would have to. ... More money is being spent. More people live here. There is more demand for amenities."

An example of a significant architectural amenity added to the community is the new airport terminal Satellite D at McCarran International Airport that opened this year, said Bill Snyder, whose firm designed the building.

"There is a lot of responsible architecture taking place in the new high schools, elementary schools and middle schools," he said. "Really government in general is doing a good job on the state, county and local level here of building good buildings that will last, despite budget constraints."

Area architects are often hard pressed to identify many architecturally significant buildings beyond the Strip, but the general feeling seems to be that the quality of public buildings is getting better.

"Las Vegas is proving itself as a city," Galati said. "We've reached the 1 million mark. That's the mark where bigger corporations start to look at you more seriously. We are going to be around for a while. We are not just going to be a disposable town."

Gillet's study is being sponsored by the French government. The theme of his project is to look at the "new deserts" of France, small cities that are losing population, and see what lessons can be learned from growing cities of the actual desert.

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