Entry number: IE08001
Project Name: Lavo Restaurant & Night Club at the Palazzo
Building Type: Hospitality
Completion Date: September 2008
Architect: Klai Juba Architects
Building Location: 3325 Las Vegas Blvd., South, Las Vegas, NV 89502

Design Team:
Electrical Engineer: MSA Engineering Consultants
General Contractor: PWI Construction
Structural Engineer: Walter P Moore
Interior Designer: Avro Ko
Mechanical Engineer: Vanderweil Engineers
Lighting Designer: Arc Light Design
Audio/Visual Consultant: FBP Group

Statement of Design Approach:
The approach in creating LAVO was to create an integrated restaurant and night club experience that delivered a high level of service and sophistication while allowing for great flexibility of use of the limited space with a distinctive Moroccan decor.

Narrative:
LAVO is a new restaurant and night club located within the new Palazzo Resort on Las Vegas Boulevard. Within the property, the space is located at a high traffic intersection directly adjacent to the main porte cochere and registration area while directly overlooking the Las Vegas Strip.

The main constraint of the project was to create unique and beautiful spaces which maximized seating capabilities and event flexibility in both the main level lounge/dining areas as well as in the upper level night club all of which were contained in an extremely limited building envelope. To solve this, two innovative approaches were taken, both of which involved utilizing the high volume of the lower (restaurant) level. First, to maximize the seating space on the lower restaurant/lounge area, the main production kitchen was suspended from the structure above essentially creating another floor within the volume of the space. In addition to providing much needed kitchen space, the smaller volume below was utilized to create more intimate dining space as well as a private dining room. Second, because there is no direct access to the upper level from the resort's public areas, the entry sequence to the night club had to both be created and move through the lower restaurant space. The solution was to suspend from the structure above a bridge and stair element that while solving the problem also created a beautiful runway from which club-goers can be seen by the other patrons as well as a visually defining element separating the lounge from the dining room.

Throughout the space there is a constant mix of old world decor with modern technology. Much of the decorative elements were hand selected by the owner in Morocco and Turkey and strategically placed so guests can not only see, but feel their authenticity. The integration of technology is best seen in the night club where tile arches and domes create distinctive areas for lounging, congregating and dancing. The DJ booth contains state of the art systems on display behind antique screens. On the main dome above the dance floor, projectors provide various scenes of skylines, sunsets or even the effect of being under water. This night club is unique from others in that it creates very unique intimate spaces which provide guests with exclusivity while they still all flow together for a unifying experience.

Sustainability description:
Not only is LAVO located in the world's first LEED Silver rated casino-resort, early on in the design process, a sustainability consultant was brought on by the owner to offer assistance in selecting items and designing processes that would be both environmentally conscious and operationally efficient in their use.

The limited space available also contributed favorably in that compact, high efficiency kitchen equipment not only fit within the area available, but used less energy to make, use, clean and took up less space than traditional equipment. Another leading-edge technology utilized in LAVO, as well as throughout the entire property is UV-water wash grease hoods in the kitchens which efficiently provide better air quality both inside the kitchen and to the exterior environment. Additionally, throughout the space, both front of house and back, high efficiency lighting took priority including in the nightclub where much of the decorative lighting is done using high efficiency LED technology.

When it came to decor, authenticity was paramount and also looked on favorably in that reused and recycled materials as well as natural fabrics made sense environmentally and aesthetically. Procuring items for the space was an arduous process but in the end worth the effort to create an authentic environment using reused materials.

Not surprisingly with the name being 'LAVO' which means to bathe or to cleanse, water was a big part of the design from the beginning. Strategically placed, the water features provide visual and auditory stimulation for the patrons. In order to maintain their use, the custom features were designed with low flow fixtures and high efficiency recirculation pumps. These systems not only need little new injections of water for their use but also use very little power to operate.