Circus Circus Reimagined

Instructors: Raymond Winkler, Neil Thomas, Jason Kim

The future of entertainment is a never-ending, ever-changing circus that celebrates the potential of the human body and automation. 

This project adds a circus theater in front of Circus Circus, a casino hotel at the North end of the Strip in Las Vegas. In contrast to a traditional venue that serves one big show and remains unused outside the performance hours, the project focuses on being flexible to minimize dark hours. Mobile compartments and units on tracks offer unlimited performance configurations. Multiple shows can happen at the same time. Different elevations of the audience seats allow both access control for paid shows and excellent visibility for free shows. The moving units also control the form of the tensile roof. As the units move along the tracks, the tensile fabric creates a dynamic roof line that echoes with the traditional circus “Big Top” and registers where circus acts are on view.