Archinect - News

Brightline West breaks ground on $12 billion Vegas to California high-speed rail project

2024-04-23T17:28:00-04:00

The $12 billion high-speed rail infrastructure project that will connect Las Vegas with various hubs in the Southern California region is off and running. Brightline West’s 218-mile loop is now under construction with a $3 billion push from the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the 2028 finish line in sight to coincide with LA's turn as host of that year's Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Las Vegas Station aerial view. Image courtesy Brightline West

Las Vegas Station interior view. Image courtesy Brightline West

The trains will be operated at a maximal speed of 200 miles per hour, setting the North American record. (Another project between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, will commence soon.) Wes Edens, Brightline's founder, said: “Today is long overdue, but the blueprint we’ve created with Brightline will allow us to repeat this model in other city pairs around the country.”

Rancho Cucamonga Station exterior view. Image courtesy Brightline West...

Record-setting 3D printed memorial will light up Super Bowl LVIIl next weekend

2024-02-01T16:14:00-05:00

With the presentation of this month’s NFL Super Bowl LVIIl in Las Vegas, a specially-made design constituting the world’s tallest free-standing 3D printed structure will also be on display inside Allegiant Stadium courtesy of the Kansas City tandem MANICA Architecture and fabrication firm Dimensional Innovations (DI).

The special Al Davis Memorial Torch is made in tribute to the eccentric former Raiders owner, author of the phrase "Just Win Baby," and a favorite among NFL fans for many decades.

Over 50,000 work hours went into the project between 2019 and 2020. When it culminated at 93 feet, it featured 1,148 total aluminum panels robotically painted in silver and supported by 226 individual 3D printed carbon fiber blocks weighing approximately 350 pounds apiece.

Image: © Dimensional Innovations

Each metal component was machined on a five-axis router to an incredible tolerance (approximately the width of a human hair) before DI could take over the installation. The result was a po...

High-speed rail line between Vegas and SoCal receives additional $2.5 billion funding

2024-01-26T11:04:00-05:00

The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved $2.5 billion for the Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail project. As we have previously reported, the 218-mile line will connect Las Vegas to Southern California, running primarily along the I-15 median.

Electric trains on the line will be capable of reaching 186 miles per hour, fulfilling the journey in half the time to travel by car. The cost of the project currently stands at $12 billion, funded partly by an additional $3 billion allocation last month under the Infrastructure Act, and a $25 million to to the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority that will be used to construct stations on the line in Hesperia and Victor Valley, California.

Related on Archinect: U.S. Department of Transportation awards $6.1 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects in the American West. Image courtesy Brightline West

“As the first true high-speed rail system in America, Brightline West will serve as the blueprint for c...

Plans for new LACMA-backed Las Vegas art museum emerge

2023-12-27T08:00:00-05:00

Around three years after the Nevada Museum of Art (NMA) in Reno suspended its plans to move forward with a Las Vegas branch of the museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the foundation of the philanthropist Elaine P. Wynn have announced an unprecedented partnership to launch a new museum in the city called the Las Vegas Museum of Art (LVMA).

As The Art Newspaper reported, plans for a new Las Vegas Museum of Art have the approximately 60,000-90,000-square-foot cultural facility commence in 2028 and cost around $150 million to construct in five-acre Symphony Park. LACMA is supporting the effort, which will (hopefully) fill the void left after the first Las Vegas Museum of Art closed its doors in 2009 over a lack of funding. Backers now have until 2025 to submit a design proposal and project timeline to the city.

“Our efforts to work with local and regional museums to share our collections and programs to larger and more diverse audiences are a priority in this joint effort,” a spokesperson for LACMA told TAN. “Las Vegas is currently the only city among the 30 largest in the U.S. to lack a standalone art museum [that is not a member of American Alliance of Museums]. It promises to be a valuable addition to the city and the cultural landscape of the region.”

No architects have been named to the project at this time.

...

Take a look inside the Las Vegas Sphere's interior and lighting designs

2023-12-22T14:05:00-05:00

New York-based design studio ICRAVE has shared a special look inside its interior, wayfinding, and lighting design work on the headline-grabbing new Sphere entertainment venue in Las Vegas.

Besides its 580,000-square-foot fully programmable exterior LED facade and the 160,000-square interior display for 17,500 guests, Sphere features another 300,000 square feet of interior space spread across eight levels.

Cross section rendering of Sphere. Image courtesy Sphere Entertainment

The lighting strategy for its lobby, VIP clubs, food and beverage spaces, and other hospitality suites was designed to mimic the geometry of the venue (now the world’s largest spherical structure) and insists on stage lighting to further communicate its purpose to the world.

Photo: Rich Fury, courtesy Sphere Entertainment

“We needed the surrounding spaces to live up to the promise of what’s inside the bowl and to ensure...

U.S. Department of Transportation awards $6.1 billion in funding for high-speed rail projects in the American West

2023-12-06T14:36:00-05:00

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced $6.1 billion in funding for two high-speed rail projects in Nevada and California that will make history upon their respective completions at the end of the decade.

Both the $8 billion Brightline West plan connecting Southern California to Las Vegas and the California High-Speed Rail project between Los Angeles and San Francisco will receive a total of $3 billion and $3.07 billion each.

The funding will help propel the former towards a formal project announcement that is expected by Friday, according to Reuters. The latter will aid in the development of a pared-down version of the larger California project that has been plagued by funding challenges for several years.

Brightline’s chairman Wes Edens told Reuters the funding marks a “historic moment that will serve as a foundation for a new industry and a remarkable project that will serve a...

The New Yorker dissects the immersive potential of Sphere and City

2023-11-14T08:00:00-05:00

The differences between “City” and the Sphere are deep, true, yet narrower than you might suppose—the works are trying for the same things but in opposite ways. Both are big, expensive, geometric structures in the desert that offer visitors a vivid encounter with the natural world—one with exquisite footage of jellyfish and the like, the other with deftly roughened rock and concrete.

The New Yorker’s art critic Jackson Arn takes on two of the most recent (and spectacular) cultural offerings of the Silver State — "One with a deluge of images and the other with a tantalizing lack of them," as he writes.

Related on Archinect: Take a look at photos of Michael Heizer's 'City' ahead of its debut (45°, 90°, 180°, City. © Michael Heizer. Courtesy Triple Aught Foundation. Photo: Joe Rome)

Learning from Las Vegas’ new Sphere as it shines a light on the future of entertainment design

2023-10-02T15:24:00-04:00

The buzz that followed the recent debut of Populous' $2.3 billion Sphere in Las Vegas has provided one academic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a valuable teaching opportunity to expose students to cutting-edge concepts integral to the future of high-tech spatial experience, urban development, and entertainment design.

“I’m excited to see some of my own students in the master of architecture program, have played a role in things like commissioning of the Sphere as part of their internships, looking at the building system performance,” Associate Professor of Architecture Glenn NP Nowak told the local affiliate KLAS-TV recently. “We have looked at the integration of digital technology, obviously it’s paramount when looking at that, it’s impossible to ignore and it shows that evolution we’ve seen throughout the Strip.”

Nowak serves as the founding director of the UNLV School o...

Refik Anadol previews new AI data sculpture installation for Las Vegas Sphere

2023-08-31T17:54:00-04:00

A new AI Data Sculpture installation from Refik Anadol has been unveiled ahead of its public premiere tomorrow, September 1st, at the newly-complete Sphere entertainment venue in Las Vegas.

The sculpture utilizes the structure’s Exosphere, a digital canvas covering that can be programmed to display content thanks to its world-leading array of 1.2 million different LED ‘pucks’ which are spaced 8 inches apart to form an almost 580,000-square-foot display.

Anadol says: “It’s so exciting to be given such an architectural and engineering marvel as a canvas. This opportunity aligns perfectly with our studio’s long-term mission of embedding media arts into architecture to create living architectural pieces that are in constant interaction with their environments.”

Rendering courtesy Refik Anadol Studio

The latest in his Machine Hallucinations series will offer viewers a meditative and elaborate multisensory experience based on accumulated local atmospheric data that are consolidated and th...

Watch Las Vegas’ MSG Sphere light up for Fourth of July debut

2023-07-05T18:11:00-04:00

At 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide, it’s being billed as the world’s largest spherical structure. Its bowl-shaped theater reportedly contains the world’s highest-resolution wraparound LED screen. And its exterior is fitted with 1.2 million hockey puck-sized LEDs that can be programmed to flash dynamic imagery on a massive scale – again, reportedly the world’s largest. It was fully illuminated for the first time Tuesday night to celebrate the Fourth of July.

The venue doesn’t officially debut until late September with the beginning of U2’s special residency. The sphere will blast tunes from its hyper-customizable 164,000-speaker audio system, which somehow can even direct specific languages to certain parts of the audience.

Video courtesy of Sphere/YouTube

Testing of its eye-burning extierior didn’t commence until just last week. In a press statement, Sphere Entertainment SVP Guy Barnett called it “living architecture, and unlike anything that exists anywhere in the world.”

The lessons we’re still ‘Learning from Las Vegas’ after 50 years

2023-01-27T16:32:00-05:00

What struck me when I went back to reread the book is how deliberately it works to collapse the distance, and therefore the distinction, between enthusiasm and skepticism, and ultimately between documentation and critique. Above all, “Learning from Las Vegas” argues for a curious and open-minded anti-utopianism, for understanding cities as they are rather than how planners wish they might be—and then using that knowledge, systematically and patiently won, as the basis for new architecture.

Yale’s new visiting critic Christopher Hawthorne considers the lasting inspirational qualities and history of Steven Izenour, Denise Scott Brown, and Robert Venturi's seminal 1972 text, whose origins can be traced to a studio the young newlyweds taught in New Haven in the fall of 1968. Hawthrone places it alongside Reynar Banham’s Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies — published the year before — in an antiquated canon but says its impartial tone should be emulated by a new generation of high-minded designers hoping to dismantle or improve the pernicious social and environmental ramparts of our young century.

Related three-part feature series on Archinect: Learning from 'Learning from Las Vegas' with Denise Scott Brown, Part 1: The Foundation; Part 2: Pedagogy; Part 3: Research

“'To tear down Paris and begin again' is not so far, in spirit, from the current mood, even if the political goals of many young architects are quite different from those of the right-leaning Le Co...

Brightline's SoCal to Las Vegas high speed rail project could soon be underway

2022-12-05T15:45:00-05:00

A long-awaited high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas to Southern California is reportedly ready to proceed in 2023 as an $8 billion proposal from rail operator Brightline is nearing permitting permission from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

According to the International Railway Journal (IRJ), the project would include three stops along a 49-mile stretch of land along Interstate 15. The railway system is expected to reduce car traffic between Los Angeles and Vegas by 3 million vehicles per year and transport passengers at speeds around 180 miles for a trip that would only take a little more than 2 hours from end to end. The company says the project would create up to 1,000 permanent jobs in both states.

A proposed map of the network showing a Metrolink connection to central Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Brightline.

Operations could begin as soon as 2026 or 2027 depending on the start date, which Brightline West CEO Mike Reininger says will happen in “a matter of w...

RIOS has been selected for a $1 billion redesign of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas

2022-11-10T17:32:00-05:00

"We are looking to elevate our experiences resort wide [...] Arrival experiences will be different. For both The Venetian and The Palazzo, we plan to renovate, remodel, and redesign all of our suites. We will be offering a number of new [food-and-beverage] concepts, we are taking a deep look at entertainment, nightlife, and bar offerings, and the casino floor will feel significantly different as well.”

In an Instagram post, RIOS said the redesign will “retain the resort's Italian roots reimagined in a refined and evolutionary way.⁠” The hotel and casino was first designed by KlingStubbins on the site of the former Sands property for developer Sheldon Adelson in the late 1990s. The landmark Venetian replicas within the resort will likely be kept intact, though a spokesperson for the company that manages the property said the $1 billion-plus project will refresh its overall design along more contemporary lines.

"We are a themed hotel and we will always be a themed hotel," Venetian CEO Patrik Nichols told T+L. "That sets us apart, but the Italy of the '90s that The Venetian was modeled after has evolved. If we are able to lean into that through the spirit of Italy and discovery, we are not going to look like just another hotel that has refreshed their rooms."

New resort and casino project approved for the Las Vegas Strip

2022-10-24T11:48:00-04:00

Officials in Clark County, Nevada, have voted to approve a new 43-story resort and casino project to be located on the Las Vegas Strip following a successful bid from Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

According to Construction Dive, the scheme will include a 2,420-room hotel, 2,536-seat theater, chapel, retail, offices, and convention spaces on top of a multiple-level parking structure and be located nearby the larger Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino at 3725-3735 Las Vegas Boulevard South.

The plan will be developed over the next two years beginning tentatively in March and joins the city’s list of other major forthcoming post-pandemic projects, which to date includes DLR’s Group’s 21-story Dream Hotel, the soon-to-be-completed MSG Sphere by Populous, and the expanding Vegas Loop from Elon Musk’s The Boring Company.

An architect for the project has yet to be named. In a s...

DLR Group's Dream Hotel in Las Vegas begins construction

2022-07-28T15:07:00-04:00

A new 21-story luxury hotel tower by DLR Group has officially broken ground in Las Vegas. The Dream Las Vegas Hotel & Casino will sit along the Las Vegas Strip adjacent to the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. The project is expected to be hotel brand and management company Dream Hotel Group’s new flagship property.

Image courtesy of DLR Group

The hotel will feature 531 guest rooms and suites. A tower sits atop three levels of gaming, dining, and nightlife venues. These stacked layers shift and undulate vertically to break down the large scale of the building and provide an elevated series of roof decks that offer panoramic views of the strip and desert landscape. Guests access the space via a two-story lobby that leads to this selection of venues.

Image courtesy of DLR Group

The hotel’s amenities include a rooftop nightclub, pool deck and lounge, three restaurants, two other bar and lounge concepts on the gaming floor, and a street-level café. These are joined by a 20,000-square-...

Why does the metaverse look so ordinary, UCL researchers ask

2022-04-04T10:32:00-04:00

Last week, our editorial team had some fun with the metaverse. While light-hearted in nature, our April Fools article was nonetheless inspired by the serious interest shown by our community, the architecture world, and society at-large in the metaverse and how architecture and design intersect with virtual space.

Now, a new article by UCL researchers Luke Pearson and Sandra Youkhana puts forward the thesis that the metaverse doesn’t appear as disruptive or radical as the underlying technologies it is often associated with, be it blockchains, cryptocurrencies, or NFTs.

Instead, the team argue that the architecture and urbanism of the metaverse appears to follow real-world principles of design and construction, despite the freedom given by virtual space to transcend these principles.

“People have always imagined cyberspace to look like a version of real urban space,” say Pearson and Youkhana. Th...

Nevada dedicates $300 million towards new affordable housing projects

2022-02-21T17:04:00-05:00

The Nevada Housing Division announced Wednesday that $300.7 million will go to the development of affordable housing projects in the state. The money makes up 87% of Nevada’s 2021 tax-exempt bonding authority and is the highest amount earmarked for state-led affordable housing developments since the inception of the state’s tax-exempt private activity bond (PAB) program, according to Department of Business and Industry Director Terry Reynolds.

The program aims to facilitate public and private sector collaboration in financing eligible affordable housing projects. There are currently 14 below-market-rate projects under construction located in Reno, Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas that will bring 2,898 residences by early 2024, with nine set for completion in 2022 and early 2023. The developments will remain at below-market rates for a minimum of 30 years.

Digital twin of downtown Las Vegas unveiled in effort to cut emissions

2022-01-20T13:39:00-05:00

Las Vegas has become the latest city to embark on constructing a digital twin, following the unveiling of a digital model at the city’s Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month. Developed by Chicago-based Cityzenith and Las Vegas-based Terbine, the model encompasses a 2.7-square-mile portion of downtown Las Vegas and is intended to “help Las Vegas building owners transition to net-zero carbon emissions.”

As we noted in October 2021, the digital replica of the physical landscape was built using local city data. In the future, the developers see the model as an opportunity to accurately measure and design for the impacts of future plans on the city’s air quality, mobility, water management, and building emissions.

With the base model now completed, the next phase will involve input from stakeholders including real estate owners, government agencies, university researchers, data partners, architects, and casino operators, overlaying further detail on how the city is operated and u...

Elon Musk's Boring Co. wins Clark County commission approval for 'Vegas Loop'

2021-10-21T11:24:00-04:00

Clark County lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously approved letting Musk’s Boring Co. submit plans for the project dubbed the Vegas Loop. It would connect with an existing short Convention Center Loop the company completed and began operating in June. An overall cost wasn’t disclosed.

Las Vegas has made very hefty public investments of late with a brand new football stadium (which makes up one prong of the loop), planned regional railway link with Los Angeles, and high-tech infrastructure upgrades both planned for the next the coming years.

Musk's company says it will look to complete the high-profile tunnel system with some haste, considering its seemingly stalled $1 billion high-speed rail project at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. His previous ambit for a hyperloop train from DC to Boston never took shape after years of hype and speculation. Others have been quick to question the billionaire's hand in public infrastructure schemes of similar scope and scale.

Las Vegas is adopting digital twin technology to mitigate emissions

2021-10-20T14:22:00-04:00

Las Vegas is implementing digital twin technology to tackle its urban emissions. An area of downtown Las Vegas will use advanced 5G networking and IoT along with the digital twin technology to improve air quality, water management and carbon emissions produced from major buildings in the city.

Technology startup Cityzenith will provide its Digital Twin platform, SmartWorldPro2, for the project as part of its Clean Cities, Clean Future initiative. Las Vegas-based data management and curation platform Terbine will use IoT data from government agencies, building operators, transportation systems, and others to provide sensor information needed for the digital twin.

“Now in Las Vegas, we will have a city-scale digital twin that is driven by the physical environment, and ultimately letting us control key systems through it,” said Las Vegas Chief Innovation Officer Michael Sherwood. “This will give us new levels of insights and control to benefit city planners, residents, and businesses.”

Las Vegas is the second city to participate in Cityzenith’s initiative behind New York City. According to the company, Phoenix and several other major cities are expected to follow.

A Las Vegas theater company knows the value of having an interior architect on board (and they're hiring one right now)

2021-08-07T09:00:00-04:00

Having a background as an architect offers a specific level of expertise that can be used outside of traditional employment formats. Archinect has been connecting with architects and design professionals from various backgrounds since 1997.

Our industry-leading job board publishes approximately 150 new opportunities every week. Employment offerings from numerous locations and thousands of firms, organizations, creative companies, and institutions offer a mix of career opportunities for architects and design professionals from a variety of backgrounds and experiences.

Beyond traditional employment openings from small, medium, and large firms, Archinect Jobs also showcases a selection of unique job opportunities for architects.

Last week, our editorial team highlighted an exciting job opening to work as a Treehouse Designer. This week, renowned American theater company Spiegelworld is searching for an Interior Architect or Interior Designer for a remote position with their team.

Im...

Las Vegas to Southern California high-speed rail project is back on track

2021-05-06T12:50:00-04:00

Brightline West, an affiliate of Brightline, the country’s only privately owned passenger railroad, is planning a 170-mile high-speed rail line, which would connect Las Vegas to the Apple Valley community in San Bernardino County. Set to travel at a maximum speed of 200 miles per hour, trains on Brightline West are expected to make the trip in half the time compared to driving. Trains would depart every 45 minutes with each offering a capacity between 600 and 1,200 passengers.

While Brightline West originally expected to begin construction by the end of 2020, the project faced significant setbacks due to the pandemic. One such being a lack of interest in private equity bonds allocated for the project by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the states of Nevada and California to pay for the construction. A letter by Brightline to the Nevada High-Speed Rail Authority obtained by USA Today attributes election uncertainty, the lack of approval of a COVID-19 vaccine, and a lack of ...

The Boring Company's underground tunnel in Vegas is almost underway

2020-10-21T11:40:00-04:00

The first steps toward expanding The Boring Co. underground tunnel system throughout Las Vegas may be underway, as the Elon Musk-owned company has submitted special use permit and land use applications, according to an announcement from the Las Vegas Convention Visitors Authority.

The underground tunnel, which will stretch the length of the Strip all the way to the recently completed Allegiant Stadium, is awaiting approval from the Stadium Authority, Construction Dive reports.

Gensler designs an Atari Hotel for Las Vegas

2020-10-20T15:18:00-04:00

With the hotel industry looking to regroup due to the effects of the recent pandemic, architecture firms are continuing with upcoming hospitality projects as team with innovation and hospitality groups.

This month, Gensler and GSD Group announced its collaboration with Atari® Hotels. GSD Group is an innovation and strategy hospitality group based in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have already secured their plans to construct future Atari Hotels in Austin, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle, according to Atari Hotels.

Atari Hotel. GIF courtesy of Gensler/GSD Group

Front Entrance: Image render courtesy of Gensler/GSD Group

Although their recent collaboration and planning details are still emerging, many have already expressed excitement towards the highly anticipated video game classic inspired hotel. According to a statement from Atari, the 400-room "family-friendly" hotel will be teeming with "retro-futurism, pop culture, and nostalgia." GSD Group's Managing Partner Shel...

High-speed rail project linking Las Vegas and Southern California takes step forward

2020-07-08T14:56:00-04:00

DesertXpress Enterprises LLC, an affiliate of Virgin Trains USA, has struck a lease deal with the California DOT (Caltrans) for a right of way along Interstate 15 as part of its $4.8 billion, 170-mile XpressWest bullet train from Southern California to Las Vegas.

First mentioned on Archinect last September, the planned 170-mile long high-speed rail line that could connect Las Vegas with Southern California's Apple Valley station, about 90 miles northeast of Downtown Los Angeles, is making progress.

XpressWest, a Brightline company and subsidiary of Virgin Trains USA, has reached a lease agreement with the California Department of Transportation to use existing State right-of-way along Interstate 15.

According to the official Caltrans announcement, an environmental study estimated that "the completed project will reduce carbon emissions by 300,000 metric tons a year – the equivalent of removing nearly 65,000 vehicles off the road."

The privately financed project hopes to break ground later this year and reach completion in 2023.

Elon Musk's The Boring Company achieves milestone in Las Vegas

2020-02-14T20:53:00-05:00

Friday, the boring machine broke through the last bit of a tunnel under the Las Vegas Convention Center. This completes the first section of drilling for the project. It’s part of the master plan to move people quickly around the facility. The convention center is in the process of expanding by 1.4 million square feet. That will bring the total convention space to 4.6 million in exhibition space.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) announced today that excavation is complete for the first of The Boring Company's tunnels for the Vegas Loop that will be located beneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. As previously reported on Archinect, The Boring Company projects that the tunnel loop will move 4,400 passengers per hour. It is scheduled to be completed in January 2021.

SoCal-Las Vegas Virgin bullet train to begin construction next year

2019-12-19T09:00:00-05:00

While construction on the long-talked-about high-speed train between Las Vegas and Southern California is slated to begin next year, work probably won’t start in Nevada until the following year. Virgin Trains USA could break ground in the second half of 2020 on the 170-mile route between Southern Nevada and the Victor Valley area of Southern California...

The project is expected to be completed in 2023, but, according to state Department of Business Director Terry Reynolds, it cannot commence construction until the "record of decision" is received by the Federal Railroad Administration, reports Review-Journal.

Boring Co. begins underground construction on Las Vegas peoplemover

2019-11-19T15:28:00-05:00

Elon Musk's tunneling company, The Boring Co. (TBC), will begin underground construction on a tunnel for a tram system at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, Nov. 15. The people mover project is contracted at $52.5 million and scheduled to be completed in January 2021, in time for the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

The company projects that the tunnel loop will move 4,400 passengers per hour. According to Construction Dive, aboveground work on stations and stops began last month, after TBC's boring machine was assembled on site.

Construction on high-speed rail line linking Los Angeles and Las Vegas on the horizon

2019-09-03T15:30:00-04:00

Virgin Trains USA Vice President Bob O’Malley told delegates at the Nevada Economic Development Conference that design work was 30% complete and that the proposed line between the Las Vega strip and Victorville, on the northeast outskirts of Los Angeles, would be using the Virgin Trains’ Florida project as its model. The line will span [185 miles] with trains travelling up to [149 miles] per hour, which would clock a journey time of approximately 75 minutes.

Virgin Trains USA is reportedly seeking financing for the project, which could shuttle up to 22 million travelers per year between the two metropolitan regions.

The outfit, which is also behind the successful Brightline train line in Florida, aims to finish construction of the L.A.-Las Vegas route by 2023. SOM is the designer for three of the Brightline's stations.

"Digital Infrastructure City" in Las Vegas to be built with construction drones and a robot-augmented "super workforce"

2019-08-16T12:45:00-04:00

Bleutech Park Properties, a real-estate investment trust (REIT), and KME Architects have unveiled plans for a new "Digital Infrastructure City" in Las Vegas.

The digitally-focused, smart city-style development is set to feature "automated multi-functional designs," "supertrees," and self-healing concrete structures, according to a press release. The development, which will include offices and market-rate and affordable housing, will draw all of its energy from renewable sources. The buildings in the development are set to be wrapped with photovoltaic glass panels that will turn "entire building exteriors into single solar panels," according to a statement.

The project is also set to be constructed using union labor; Those workers will be aided by a bevy of automated and digital technologies, including aerial construction drones that will work on hard-to-reach and dangerous portions of the project and "wearable technologies" that will aid workers in heavy lifting and repetitive task...