The building of the decade is a giant blob in Vegas
Sphere is the building of the year, the decade, possibly the century – an inescapable gravity well of viral content, vivid imagery and vast sums of money.
Speed past the Venetian hotel on Sands Avenue in Las Vegas, and it comes into view suddenly, a celestial body that eclipses the sky. Turn up Howard Hughes Parkway, and it emerges more gradually, a great dome rising from the desert. No matter where you are coming from in the city, your eyes manage to find it. In daytime, a giant mauve marble, a totem like a pyramid or ziggurat; at night, a globe of pure information.
Sphere – no “the,” only Sphere – tilted Las Vegas’ axis this year. Its location just east of the Strip shifted the epicentre of tourism in the city, while its design upended the trajectory of Vegas architecture.
