CityCenter Aria Tower—Engineering the Iconic Casino in Las Vegas

The Aria Tower is the principal hotel and iconic centerpiece of the MGM Resorts International CityCenter Las Vegas mixed-use complex making its mark on the Nevada skyline. The Aria is designed in an elegant, sophisticated and contemporary architectural style with a floor plan based on interlocking arcs that is distinctly different from the linear, T, Y and X floor plans common to casino hotels. It also has three separate elevator cores with dedicated entry lobbies to provide guests with the experience of entering a smaller, exclusive hotel and avoiding long walks to their rooms. Visual massing of the hotel exterior is minimized by varying the heights of different building areas while fitting over 4 million square feet of hotel/casino spaces in up to 52 stories above ground and two stories below ground within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) height limitation of 600 feet. The unusual floor plan, separate cores and varied heights presented unique structural analysis and design challenges. This paper discusses the process and results for structural engineering of the Aria tower, including development of its "Core-Moment Frame" lateral system, its deep foundation interacting with caliche, and its unconventional post-tensioned (PT) slab system applied to a high rise building in a region of moderate seismicity. Guiding the project through turbulent economical times, completing the project on schedule, and achieving the coveted Green Building LEED (The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold status were the results of the professionalism, dedication, commitment, and cooperation of the entire Aria Tower ownership, design and construction team.