The team behind the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Fontainebleau Development’s latest venture slated to open on the Las Vegas Strip in December (pending regulatory approvals), has announced the property’s architecture and design partners, working in tandem with the in-house team.
“The opening of Fontainebleau Las Vegas marks a significant milestone in our company’s legacy as we look to create an era-defining moment in Las Vegas history,” Fontainebleau Development President Brett Mufson said in a statement. “Together with our team and Fontainebleau Development’s Chief Brand and Design Officer Peter Arnell, we are working to ensure that we are executing on the vision our CEO, Jeffrey Soffer, set forth for the property. This dream could be realized only by partnering with designers that bring an unrivaled depth of knowledge and skill to the project, and a shared history of successful collaborations with Fontainebleau Development.”
The project’s architecture pays homage to the original Fontainebleau Miami Beach. To set the tone, Fontainebleau Development has tapped David Collins Studio, led by the design firm’s Chief Creative Officer Simon Rawlings, to incorporate this ethos throughout the resort’s design concept. “Simon and the David Collins Studio team truly understand our brand and have laid the foundation for us to create an aesthetic that honors the legacy of Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s original architect, Morris Lapidus, while looking to the future to bring the next era of luxury hospitality to Las Vegas,” Mufson said.
“As we approached this project, it was clear that the history of the brand was an important reference point. We recognized that the design needed to be a nod to the original location, with aspects incorporated throughout the property, but we needed to create something entirely new and unexpected to meet the moment,” Rawlings added. “Throughout Fontainebleau Las Vegas, you’ll find monumental and colossal spaces that feature extraordinary spatial forms, materials and finishes echoing Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s design language.”
The Vision
Overseeing David Collins Studio and other design partners, Fontainebleau Development EVP of Design John Rawlins has been working with Mufson and Arnell on the overall vision for the project. Rawlins and his team are the design lead for all rooms and suites, the casino and select retail stores and Fontainebleau-owned restaurant concepts.
“From a creative and design perspective, no one knows the brand better,” Mufson said of Arnell and Rawlins. “Peter has been passionately involved with Fontainebleau Las Vegas since the project’s inception, and he brings an exceptional dedication and expertise that truly sets him apart. He’s been pivotal in sculpting the brand and design experience to deliver a resort unlike any other. John, who began consulting on the project in 2008 before officially joining Fontainebleau Development in 2016, has done an outstanding job of bringing our vision for the property to life through incredible design, while also working closely with our partners through each of their areas of expertise.”
Rooms & Suites
The rooms and suites, designed by Rawlins in collaboration with the resort’s in-house design team, are rooted in the Fontainebleau brand identity. A color palette of blue and silver water tones with dashes of coral pink is accented by mercury glass mirrors and brass details. Silver-grey wood veneer, silver-leaf details, pearlescent shagreen inlaid surfaces and Arabescato marble define the casegoods and other hard surfaces, while custom brass bowtie-shaped drawer pulls are a nod to Fontainebleau’s history. The rooms also have custom carpeting in a linear, art-deco pattern of dove-grey and shades of blue, which establish a geometric foundation for the assorted curvaceous furniture selections which rest upon it.
“Having worked across Fontainebleau properties for more than a decade, I’m deeply entrenched in the brand’s identity and worked diligently with my incredible team and our world-class design partners to pull that through in all aspects of the property,” Rawlins said. “One of Morris Lapidus’s best-known quotes is ‘If you create a stage setting and it is grand, everyone who enters will play their part.’ This motto influenced our choices at every instance, however we strove to achieve these notions without replicating what exists in Miami. While there are various references to the Miami resort, we have achieved a design that’s of this current moment in time and will usher in the next generation for the Fontainebleau brand.”
Carlos Zapata Studio
Architectural Designer Carlos Zapata has been retained to develop all exterior architecture at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Zapata’s namesake studio has worked on Manhattan’s Standard East Hotel, the JW Marriott Hanoi, Singapore's Sculptura Ardmore, Turnberry Ocean Club and Bitexco Financial Tower, among others.
David Collins Studio
Interior design firm David Collins Studio worked on the Mandarin Oriental Msheireb Downtown Doha in Qatar, Nobu Hotel London Portman Square, the Beverly Wilshire in California, Corinthia London, Connaught Bar, Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel and The London hotels in New York and West Hollywood, among others. The studio is collaborating with Fontainebleau Development to create the overall design ethos, including the lobby and lobby bar, VIP check-in, and high-end suite product, as well as a bar and lounge concept and steakhouse for Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Rockwell Group
The award-winning architecture and design firm has designed Fontainebleau Las Vegas’s multiple food and beverage concepts, nightclub, dayclub, sportsbook and tavern, aspirational gaming area and fitness center. Rockwell Group is recognized globally for its award-winning experiences and built environments, including Nobu Hotels and restaurants worldwide, W Hotels worldwide, Equinox Hotel New York and 1 Hotel Toronto.
“Fontainebleau Las Vegas represents the next chapter in luxury, and we are thrilled to be a part of its story,” says David Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group. “Our design concepts reflect the excitement and glamour of Fontainebleau’s original mid-century Miami Beach home, reinvented for today’s Las Vegas. We’ve created a dynamic set of spaces that offer guests a journey of discovery, celebration and relaxation."
Lissoni & Partners
Lissoni New York is the North American office and interior design practice of architect and designer Piero Lissoni and an extension of Lissoni & Partners, the Milan-based interdisciplinary studio. Lissoni New York will execute the vision for the 55,000-square-foot spa at Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Jeff Leatham
The floral arrangements throughout Fontainebleau Las Vegas will be designed by floral designer Jeff Leatham. Leatham started his career at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, in 1999. Throughout his career, Leatham has worked with international luxury brands like Chanel, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Bulgari, among others. Leatham will bring bold floral installations to Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Lifescapes International
Landscape architectural firm Lifescapes International will create the landscape environment (entire exterior, porte cohere and pool areas as well as interior environments) throughout Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The 65-year-old company has worked on the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas, The Mirage, Bellagio, The Grove, The Americana at Brand, Pendry West Hollywood Hotel & Residences, Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens, Encore Boston Harbor, Four Seasons Hotel Macao, The Westin Zhujiajian Resort in China and Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort.
Additional design partners involved in the project include Jeffrey Beers International, who is responsible for the property’s outdoor pool district as well as its more than 550,000 square feet of customizable indoor and outdoor meeting and convention space.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas covers nearly 25 acres adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center District’s West Hall on the Las Vegas Strip. The property, acquired in 2021 by Fontainebleau Development in partnership with Koch Real Estate Investments, will be solely operated by Fontainebleau Development upon its opening.