2023 Southwest Best Projects
Award of Merit Office/Retail: Culture Kings at The Forum Shops at Caesars
Photo courtesy Culture Kings
Culture Kings at The Forum Shops at Caesars
Las Vegas
Award of Merit, Office/Retail/Mixed-Use
Submitted By: Shawmut Design and Construction
Owner/Developer: Culture Kings
General Contractor: Shawmut Design and Construction
Lead Design Firm: bokor architecture + interiors
Structural Engineer: Wright Engineers
MEP Engineer: Henderson Engineers
Architect: BUNNYFiSH
As the first-ever U.S. flagship location for Australian streetwear brand Culture Kings, this store provides a multisensory immersive experience with a futuristic aesthetic across a two-story, 25,000-sq-ft space.
Completed in November 2022, the shop includes a large feature staircase with LED-clad risers, a mirrored tunnel hallway that leads customers to a secret room for exclusive limited-edition pieces, a jumbotron and more than 50 LED screens. In addition to black floor tile and metal work throughout, the shop includes an LED-lined, full-size basketball court where customers can take a number of free throw shots based on how much they have purchased for chances to win exclusive prizes. There is also a professional grade recording studio and a shoe customization lounge. The store also boasts the largest hat wall in the world, a DJ stage and a bar.
To combine four existing retail spaces and an upstairs storage area that spanned an existing egress route, the contractor performed structural work to create an expansive two-story space. Crews demolished each area down to the studs, added a mezzanine and infilled the existing stairs and elevator. Access to all four spaces was not available right away, so the team created a sequenced schedule that allowed for work to begin based on availability. This required intensive coordination with all project partners, most notably the trades. The project team also created a new egress method and combined existing utility systems into one.
