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    Alastair Philip Wiper captures “over-the-top kitsch” 1970s doomsday bunker in Las Vegas

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    British photographer Alastair Philip Wiper has documented a subterranean fallout shelter in Las Vegas, Nevada, complete with a four-hole putting green surrounded by faux pine trees and painted scenery.

    Built in 1978 by millionaire Jerry Henderson, the doomsday bunker stretches across 1,400 square metres. Henderson lived in the underground house for five years with his wife Mary up until his death in 1983.
    Alastair Philip Wiper has photographed an underground bunker in Las Vegas”Jerry was a millionaire who advocated for underground living,” Wiper said, adding that Henderson also had a similar bunker in an undisclosed location in Colorado.
    “He thought that all people would be better off living underground, not just in case of an apocalypse but in all situations.”
    The residence was built in 1978 as a nuclear fallout shelterThe shelter reflects the era in which it was designed, with details from decorative luminaires to statement pink curtains and toilet seats evoking 1970s interiors.

    Other features include a swimming pool, two hot tubs, a dance floor with a pole, a four-hole putting green, a bar, a barbecue and a sauna.
    “It seems like Jerry liked to party,” Wiper told Dezeen. “The house is made for entertaining. It’s not a house designed for a recluse.”
    1970s statement furnishings include pink toilet seats and decorative luminairesArtificial pine trees and faux rock walls emulate an outdoor garden space, while painted backdrops depicting life-like landscapes surround the shelter.
    Lighting simulates different times of day, with details like the pool and the garden picked out with colourful fluorescents that add to the eccentric nature of the residence.

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    “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” said Wiper. “But if you have a penchant for over-the-top kitsch, insane colour combinations and James Bond villain-lair aesthetics then you would be in heaven at this place.”
    Henderson’s underground house is now owned by the Church of Perpetual Life, an organisation involved with cryonic preservation that aims to extend human life, which Wiper explored in a 2023 feature for Bloomberg.
    The house has two separate hot tubsWiper documented the residence as part of an ongoing project called “How We Learned to Stop Worrying”, about the many architectural interpretations of the word “nuclear”.
    “I’m looking for all sorts of unusual locations that are associated with nuclear and when I came across the house, it fit perfectly,” Wiper said. “It’s so eccentric and flamboyant.”
    Artificial trees and faux rocks help mimic an outdoor garden spaceWiper’s latest photography book titled Building Stories, published by the Danish Architectural Press, also includes the underground house among a mix of other surreal buildings including a spooky skiing resort and a nuclear missile control centre.
    It is the follow-up to his previous book Unintended Beauty, which focuses on industrial buildings such as factories and power stations.
    Painted backdrops depict life-like scenery”I look for locations that are out of the ordinary, places that tell a story and which people don’t get to see every day, places I want to visit myself,” the photographer explained.
    “If there is something absurd, taboo or humorous about the location then all the better.”
    The photography is by Alastair Philip Wiper.

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      Bruno Mars and Yabu Pushelberg design cocktail lounge at Las Vegas casino

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      Musician Bruno Mars and design studio Yabu Pushelberg have teamed up to create the interiors of a cocktail lounge and live music venue at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas.

      Named The Pinky Ring, the 5,000-square-foot (465-square-metre) lounge is accessible directly from the casino floor, but designed as an entirely separate experience away from the bright lights, bustle and noise.
      The stone bar at The Pinky Ring is surrounded by golden drapes that are reflected in the mirrored ceilingGrammy Award-winning artist Mars collaborated with Canadian studio Yabu Pushelberg to craft an elevated and luxurious space within the Bellagio Resort and Casino.
      The bar serves a curated collection of cocktails and hosts live entertainment by top musicians and DJs – though no phones are allowed inside.
      A huge crystal chandelier hangs in the centre of the lounge and is visible from all cornersThe entry sequence begins with a dimly lit mirrored passageway, where Mars’ collection of Grammy trophies is displayed.

      “Inspired by contemporary museum design, the corridor was designed as a soothing and discreet exhibition space where guests can cleanse their visual palette from the outside world and begin to submerge into The Pinky Ring,” said the design team.
      A VIP area is lined with faceted mirrored panels that create infinite reflectionsGuests arrive at the main bar and lounge in front of a sunken conversation pit, wrapped with a wavy banquette and furnished with soft armchairs gathered around a series of small tables.
      The carpet, the leather and the velvet chair upholstery are shades of green – colours also found in the richly veined stone tabletops.
      Other niches with additional seating feature dark wood-veneer panelsA giant halo-like chandelier with tiers of glowing crystal hangs from the ceiling above, providing a central focal point that can be seen from every corner.
      At the rear of the space is a gently curved, dramatically patterned stone bar, topped with a row of metallic Flowerpot lamps by Verner Panton.
      In the central conversation pit, various shades of green were chosen for the carpet, chairs and banquettesThe back bar is housed within an elongated pill-shaped, mirrored recess, which displays a wide range of liquor bottles and is ringed with stepped cove lights.
      Golden drapes run floor to ceiling across the back wall and are reflected in more mirrors on the ceiling.
      The green hues of the seating are echoed in the richly veined stone tabletopsOff the main lounge are various niches and VIP areas that offer additional seating, some lined with dark wood-veneer panels.
      “See or be seen, each area is composed of its own suave and purpose that echoes into the next,” said the team.

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      One organically shaped space is lined with faceted, smokey mirrored panels that create infinite reflections, and features a banquette that wraps around a large table fitted with a giant ice bucket for chilling drinks.
      An important factor in the design was the lighting, which comprises under-seat and ceiling coves, along with wall lights with five globe-shaped diffusers attached to vertical brass rods.
      Patterned crushed velvet covers the curved banquette back, while the seat is wrapped in leather”In the pursuit of perpetual allure, where lighting not only transforms spaces, but perceptions, The Pinky Ring unveils a strategic lighting innovation, schemed to make people look and feel their best,” the team said.
      “Through a strategic interplay of low-level, contrast, and accent lighting, The Pinky Ring lighting design unveils the unseen.”
      Mars joins a long line of famous musicians to open entertainment venues. Among others is singer Justin Timberlake, who put his name behind an AvroKO-designed Nashville dining and drinking destination in 2021.
      Pink-red stone tiles across the bathroom walls nod to the lounge’s nameYabu Pushelberg was founded by George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg in 1980, and the studio has designed some of the most recognisable hospitality interiors over the past four decades.
      Shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2021 design studio of the year and judges for the program in 2023, Yabu Pushelberg’s recent projects include the Moxy and AC Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles – of several they’ve completed for the Moxy brand – and The Londoner hotel on Leicester Square in the UK capital.
      The photography is by Sean Davidson.

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      ICRAVE unveils sci-fi interiors of MSG Sphere Las Vegas

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      US studio ICRAVE has revealed images of the public spaces inside the world’s largest spherical structure in Las Vegas.

      Chosen through an international competition, ICRAVE was tasked with designing the interiors of the public spaces within the MSG Sphere Las Vegas by Sphere Entertainment – the giant venue’s operator.
      Upon entering the MSG Sphere Las Vegas, visitors are ushered through an arched passagewayThe scope included the building’s entry bridges, lobby and guest welcome areas, the main concourse, food and beverage outlets, as well as private artist dressing rooms, and VIP clubs and suites.
      The 20,000-person venue, designed by architecture firm Populous, was unveiled over the summer.
      In the main atrium, the building’s curves continue across the intersecting balconies and bridges. This photo and top are by Rich Fury / Sphere EntertainmentWhile the building’s exterior is covered with 580,000 square feet (53,900 square metres) of programmable LED panels, the inside glows with bands of coloured indirect lighting.

      “The spectacle that is Sphere on the outside sets the stage and bar for how magical the designed experience ICRAVE was tasked with must be on the inside,” said the studio, which has offices in New York City and Miami and is led by Lionel Ohayon.
      The colourful indirect lighting throughout the public spaces can be customised for different performancesUpon entering the venue, visitors are ushered through a series of repeated illuminated archways before arriving in a vast eight-storey atrium.
      Here, the building’s curved form is continued through a series of sweeping balconies and bridges, which intersect at different points across multiple levels to create “a sense of continuous motion”.

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      Thresholds and doorways are also shaped as either circles or ovals, while beside the escalators, a 160-foot-tall (49-metre) scrim wall hanging acts as a huge lenticular light installation.
      Reflective black terrazzo flooring creates a sci-fi feel within the public spaces, which is further enhanced by the coloured lighting.
      Thresholds and doorways are shaped as circles and arches, while black terrazzo flooring reflects the light”The lighting sets the tone and ‘performs’ as part of the Sphere experience from entry, to Atrium activation, to showtime, and as you transition out of Sphere and back to the bustle of Vegas,” ICRAVE said.
      The studio also designed the various food and beverage spaces within the venue, each carrying a distinct character.
      Each of the food and beverage outlets features a different designTucked into areas where the ceiling height is lower, these bars and food vendor spots include fluted panels, dark counters, and more indirect lighting.
      Throughout the building, mathematical graphics added to surfaces are derived from the equations used in the Sphere’s construction.

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      In the dressing rooms, artists can enjoy lounge areas and massage chairs, as well as makeup stations, private bathrooms and showers.
      Meanwhile, the VIP viewing suites feature a mix of absorptive and reflective materials intended not to distract from the performances.
      The venue can accommodate up to 20,000 visitors”In an effort to create a transformative entertainment space that takes artists and fans out of the mundane and into the future, ICRAVE sought to bring life to every inch of Sphere, not just the stage,” said the studio.
      “With a sophisticated mix of lighting, soundscape, visuals, ambiance and tactile elements, audiences and the artists will have a captivating experience like nowhere else in the world.”
      A huge scrim wall behind the escalators acts like a lenticular lighting installation. Photo by Rich Fury / Sphere EntertainmentThe Sphere began its programming in October with a concert by U2, featuring visuals by designer Es Devlin, artist John Gerrard and more on an enormous wrap-around screen.
      A similar venue was also planned for London, but the government put the project on hold earlier this year to give the Secretary of State more time to review the proposal.
      The photography is by ICRAVE unless stated otherwise.
      Project credits:
      Owner and developer: Sphere EntertainmentArchitect: PopulousInterior designer: ICRAVELighting designer: JourneyAudio engineer: ARUPAudio tech / manufacturer: Holoplot

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