Interiors
Bellagio’s ceiling and the casino resort entrance
Chihuly’s Fiori di Como shows how art can give a casino resort’s arrival space a distinctive identity.
Begin above eye level
Dale Chihuly created Fiori di Como for the Bellagio lobby in Las Vegas in 1998. The artist’s own account connects the name to Bellagio on Italy’s Lake Como, the resort’s inspiration. Even the title gives the installation a relationship to place before a visitor studies its forms.
A different focal point
In our design reading, putting an artwork overhead changes the usual hierarchy of a casino resort lobby. The ceiling becomes something to notice rather than a surface that simply encloses the room. This is a useful prompt for looking at casino interiors: identify what directs attention first, then trace how the rest of the space responds.
Observe, then interpret
A designer can separate three questions while studying the installation: what the artwork is, how it occupies the space, and what associations its setting creates. Only the first has a single catalog-style answer. The other two reward a slower look at viewpoint, colour and the relationship between a memorable object and an everyday room.