L u x o r D e c o n s t r u c t e d
Part 1 of a series of group exhibitions exploring Darkness as an architectural methodology as opposed to the transparency of modernism.
Las Vegas’s Luxor Hotel has a total of 2,526 rooms, 36 stories,and the world’s largest atrium. It is the U.S.’s largest pyramid and the fourth tallest of the world, beaten only by the pyramids of Giza. Hidden inside is a fabricated world of adult-oriented entertainment, attractions, and distractions complete with 2,500 slot machines, 87 game tables, and 29 retail stores.
The interior of this massive pyramid can be viewed as a city of its own, Ironically its namesake, the current city of Luxor, Egypt contains no actual pyramids - the first and only connection between the name Luxor and the pyramid being the Luxor Las Vegas.
Although originally heavily theme designed, the Luxor is undergoing a process of de-Egyptianization. In re-branding the image of the hotel, the pyramid as a symbol of Egypt is also re-branded, disassociating it from its original meaning and attributing new meanings to it.
Luxor remains a successful enterprise after removing Egypt from the pyramid, but what remains after removing the pyramid from the Luxor Las Vegas? Arguably, the Luxor Hotel could be fashioned in any form, as the real appeal is in the extravagant excess of its components.
Visiting Critic Mona Mahall
Cornell University
Fall 2016
