Most new conference centers strive for sustainability. CAESARS FORUM, which opens in March, is kicking it up another notch. From top to bottom, Caesars Entertainment is thinking through every detail and applying the most innovative technologies to enhance efficiencies. Its reputation and the planet are depending on it.
Lighting is a prominent feature of every meeting space. At CAESARS FORUM, every room is equipped with Unistrut track lighting that also connects directly to the electrical source. It affords lighting designers with immense flexibility. Technicians can “click” fixtures into the track when and where they’re needed.
“You don’t have to be swooping cables around to get to the power or rig a truss just to hang a couple of lights,” says Stuart Falk, vice president, strategic accounts for at Encore Event Technologies.
Remote-controlled lighting (RCL) is built into the ballroom ceilings at CAESARS FORUM. It’s used primarily for podium and décor lighting or to illuminate bars, buffets, tables or exits. To swivel a fixture around or adjust the width of the lit area, technicians use a remote-control device. Four hundred next-generation LED lights, each of which is just over 50 watts, are practically invisible until they’re turned on. Also, they’re easier to manipulate than traditional lights.
“To bring a lift into a room that’s already set with banquet or classroom tables can be very disruptive,” Falk explains.
The projection systems in each of the breakout rooms at CAESARS FORUM are novel as well. Dell 5,000-lumen, short-throw projectors will sit 10 inches away from new “edgeless” screens. Encore designed a custom-built “cube kit” to house the projector and hide the cables. Because the kits match the room finishes, “it looks like a piece of furniture,” Falk says, and “it actually gives space back to the meeting room.”
Encore is currently using Oculus virtual reality headsets embedded with room diagramming software to help planners visualize room sets.
Encore is currently using Oculus virtual reality headsets embedded with room diagramming software to help planners visualize room sets. Pre-loaded headsets can be shipped to planners who are unable to attend a site visit or given to an onsite planner when a room is inaccessible. They provide a 360-degree view of the room as it would appear on the day of the event (carpeting and wallpaper included), with tables and chairs set in the desired configuration.
“It’s been beneficial for the Caesars Entertainment sales team and for the client,” Falk says.
Sustainability is never far from the minds of audiovisual professionals, like Falk, charged with conserving energy and reducing waste. For example, Encore will use only laser projectors (no bulbs) and LED lighting (energy efficient) in CAESARS FORUM. They also offer paperless flipcharts, which save the writing and images placed on the charts to a file that can be emailed to meeting participants.
Encore also supports remote meeting attendees with a device called a Meeting Owl. For a small board meeting, the Owl projects the individual images of participants (when they speak) onto a screen for all attendees—in-room and remote—to see.
As vice president of facilities, engineering and sustainable operations for Caesars Entertainment, Eric Dominguez coordinates sustainable building and post-construction sustainable operating practices. He has been working with the CAESARS FORUM design and construction team to pursue the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.
“We’re trying to do what we can to minimize [environmental] impact, while at the same time providing a great guest experience,” he says.
Water and energy conservation are top of mind at CAESARS FORUM, which features low-flow bathroom fixtures and drought-tolerant native landscaping throughout the property. Variable flow air and water delivery systems ebb and flow as the demand increases and decreases. CO2 sensors monitor room occupancy to avoid heating or cooling empty rooms. Because the energy sources for the power grid are still fossil fuel based, “reducing the energy you use on site reduces greenhouse gas emissions upstream,” Dominguez says.
One of the newest technologies CEASARS FORUM is rolling out is an automated fault detection software overlay.
One of the newest technologies CEASARS FORUM is rolling out is an automated fault detection software overlay.
“It’s a kind of smart building system,” Dominguez says.
For example, he says, “if the pressure differential of an air filter gets high enough, it will send a message to say the filter is overloaded and needs to be changed.” This type of early detection system helps ensure the building is operating as efficiently as possible.
Dominguez has lofty, yet attainable goals for CAESARS FORUM. The building will be 25 percent more energy efficient and 44 percent more water efficient than what is required by code. One of the signature issues Dominguez is working on is more philosophical.
“We’re trying to contribute a solution for climate change,” he says. “We’re one of the first to commit to science-based greenhouse gas reduction goals so that we're effectively carbon-neutral by 2050.”
Because of that, CAESARS FORUM “will be, by far, our most technologically advanced and sustainable meetings and conventions space.”
Photo by Kabik Photo Group.
