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The Sun Also Rises
The Mohegans unveil an Emerald City in Uncasville
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Business New Haven
5/13/2002
By: Priscilla Searles
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Unless you've been living elsewhere in the solar system, you may have noticed that Mohegan Sun has set a goal of becoming Connecticut's largest tourist attraction. The recent opening of the Mohegan Sun Hotel & Conference Center marks the end of a $1 billion expansion.
The statistics on “Project Sunburst,” as the two-phase construction project was named, are almost too big to comprehend. The original 630,000 square-foot Mohegan Sun Casino opened in 1996. The addition of a new casino, conference center, ballroom and hotel facility has added 5.5 million square-feet to the complex.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, architects and planning consultants, was responsible for programming, master planning and space planning for the project.
According to Lloyd Sigal, an architect with the firm, “Project Sunburst is currently the largest private development on the East Coast of the U.S. The Tribal Council was involved in the process from the beginning. They wanted to build a resort that reflected their culture.”
Sigal continues: “They began by giving us a book that describes local landmarks, symbols, legions and their traditions. It became required reading before we started the project. And they stayed involved. When we had meetings in New York as many as 30 tribal members would show up.
“This was a fast-track project,” says Sigal. “Every day the facility wasn't open meant no money coming into the new facility. The project was completed in 42 months from commencement of design, with the first phase opening in 35 months.”
Phase I of the project, which opened last September, includes the 115,000-square-foot Casino of the Sky, 40 retail spaces and restaurants, a 10,000-seat arena, a 350-seat cabaret space and administrative offices. The Rockwell Group, designer of the original tribal-inspired interiors of Mohegan Sun's Casino of the Earth, designed the interiors for the new gaming space, hotel lobby, retail and dining areas.
The Mohegans have held that the past, present and future are inexorably linked. This philosophy permeates everything the Mohegans have ever done and is represented by the Tree of Life. The Rockwell Group used these traditions by creating a “Trail of Life” pathway from old to new, a link between the casinos of earth and sky.
Trees represent the creation of the Mohegan tribe, with roots symbolizing the tribal elders. Standing at the center of the Casino of the Sky is Wombi Rock, a three-story crystal mountain crafted from more than 12,000 individual plates of hand-selected onyx from quarries from around the world. The Mohegans believe that rocks carry the spirit of those who have shaped them, the power of a specific event, the ability to transform, protect or carry destructive energies and the life force of beings.
The 35-story hotel is the second-tallest building in Connecticut and includes 1,200 guest rooms with 186 luxury suites, a club lounge, indoor/outdoor pool and terrace, health spa, beauty salon and ballroom and 25,000 square foot meeting center.
A primary goal of the expansion project was to attract business events as well as tourists, and Mohegan Sun officials intend for their facility to be a major player in attracting business meetings, conventions and expositions.
The new conference center's 40,000-square-foot grand ballroom is the largest ballroom space east of the Mississippi River. In addition, the conference center houses 21 meeting rooms, a boardroom, a business center and two event registration desks.
Greg Bates, project designer for Hirsch Bedner Associates, a design firm specializing in hotels with offices around the world, was responsible for the concept and design of the 1,200 guestrooms in the 35-story hotel.
“The object of the design concept for the hotel,” Bates explains, “was to create a design that was comfortable, luxurious and somewhat of a departure from the hectic atmosphere in the casino.
Ultimately it was decided that rooms would directly reflect little Mohegan culture with the exception of artwork which is produced by a member of Mohegan tribe. The artworks are computer-enhanced photos of traditional Mohegan artifacts. “That's primarily how the rooms and suites attain their Mohegan identity,” says Bates.
Each hotel room is 450 square-feet, larger that some Manhattan apartments. And for those who take their business with them, each room has three two-line telephones with data ports, voice mail, Web and e-mail access and ultra-fast T-I Internet connections. If you are worried about your back, an ergonomic chair sits in front of a full-size desk.
Suites range in size from 884 to more than 3,500 square-feet. If visitors need to get out of these spacious digs, they can trot down to the 20,000-square-foot spa.
According to Sigal, Project Sunburst drew inspiration not only from Traditional Mohegan tribal myths but also from the geological and natural forms specific to this waterfront site.
“The crystalline form of the hotel tower announces the casino's presence,” says Sigal. “A tree-inspired, winged porte-cochere marks the entry to the new casino and a second porte-cochere is set within a glade of trees to announce the hotel entry. Rocks, trees and water were used in the interiors to create landscapes that simulate the surrounding woodlands.”
“Most people don't realize that the rock formations, gemstones and crystals were an important part of Mohegan culture,” adds Sigal.
“They found these things on the site decades ago and we used a lot of this natural imagery in the design of the entire complex. The hotel tower comes from the crystals - glass cut on angle - and the three wings are sculptured to resemble crystal forms. The project is emphasized by slanted walls and roofs as well as glass that reflects the sky and the changing colors of the landscape,” says Sigal.
“The tower also emphasizes natural rock formations in its massing, its roof forms are carved to create a roofscape imitating a rock formation.”
If you are expecting a Las Vegas experience at Mohegan Sun, don't. Sigal points out that Connecticut law and the wishes of the Mohegans dictated some of the differences in the design. “In Las Vegas you don't know if it is night or day unless you go outside,” says Sigal.
“But light was important to this design and it makes a big difference. In Las Vegas the idea is to get you into the casino as fast and directly as possible. But Connecticut law states that separate entrances are required. If you are going to be at Mohegan with your family, children aren't allowed into the casino.”
Sigal says separate entrances into the hotel and other facilities make it possible to go to the facility without forcing your children to walk through the casino.
“Let's face it,” he says, “it's much nicer to walk into a general lobby rather than directly into the casino. And the casino itself is surrounded by pathways that allow you to get around without walking through the gambling area.”
Project Sunburst didn't move forward without problems. “This kind of project requires a lot of dialogue and negotiating and patience,” says Bates, “but the end project was worth all the effort that went into it.”
But if you are planning a stay at the hotel, give yourself ample time to plan. Bookings are coming in so fast that Bates himself, whose company designed the hotel rooms, couldn't get a reservation for the opening.
There was no room at the inn.
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