ArtScape: Las VegasHitting the Jackpot in Decorative Concrete
If you've been to Las Vegas, odds are good that you've seen — or walked on — her stunning work. Known for its spectacular fountains and the entertaining Cirque Du Soleil productions, the luxurious Bellagio hotel also boasts some of the most beautiful floors and patio areas around — and designer Mikhal Zambon helped bring them to life and to the eyes of millions of visitors. Zambon is the designer and Mike Anderson is the president of the recently formed artScape: Las Vegas. Zambon got her start in architecture and interior design after attending the University of Houston and Arizona State to study the two disciplines, as well as graphics. She was in Las Vegas on a project when she met representatives from the highly prestigious company Arcon, which describes itself as an innovative industry leader of new technology in cementitious, decorative, architectural flooring.
Zambon was impressed with concrete's potential, particularly as a designer, and soon joined the Arcon team as a designer. Arcon says it has the unique ability to create virtually any design utilizing structural concrete and overlayment. Their systems have replaced tile, stone, asphalt, kool deck, terrazzo, marble and other hard surface flooring materials on high-profile projects.
And Arcon had the good fortune to create a showcase of all showcases in one of the most popular resort destinations in the world — Las Vegas. Installed projects such as Bellagio, MGM Grand, Caesar's Palace, New York New York, along with large out-of-state endeavors in places like Seattle, Detroit, San Francisco, and Tokyo have established Arcon's excellence in nearly every market in the world — and catapulted Zambon's reputation as a designer of floors that seem perhaps too beautiful to walk on. After a decade of working with Arcon, Zambon decided it was time to roll the die and take a chance on branching out on her own. "I wanted to get back to the basics. It was getting too big," said Zambon. "I wanted the quality control. I like to work with the homeowner — I like the interaction. If I do just one beautiful house a month, I'm happy." Zambon had the opportunity to work all over the world, including on a Tokyo mall, a nightclub in Switzerland, the Pirates Stadium, and malls throughout the country. But as Arcon began to expand, with its sights set on mushrooming into a franchise and adding licensees, Zambon decided it was time to plant herself firmly at home. She wants to focus on residential projects, but so far she has been busy designing decorative concrete floors for area restaurants and bars. "I like being able to give my input," she said. Zambon particularly enjoys integrating other materials into her designs, like glass mosaic inlays that provide sparkle and contrast to the concrete and give the floor a look of distinction and personality. At Café Wasabi, she did a spraytop with saw cuts and chemical stains. She likes working with chemical stains because they're so natural looking, and she loves blending wood and granite into the design to create the most custom look possible. Now she wants to help more homeowners bring their own signature looks into their homes. And Nevada homeowners are slowly catching on and placing their money on concrete. "In California and Arizona, they're more savvy ... They're definitely catching up in the metro areas (of Nevada)," said Zambon, saying she is receiving a healthy response from a recent local magazine ad. "Many people see concrete all over town, but never realized it was concrete," she said. Meanwhile, while gorgeous resorts and upscale restaurants have been standard fare for Zambon, one of her most memorable projects involved a 35-foot-long dinosaur. Long before the days of CAD and sophisticated software, a client requested a 35-foot-long skeleton of a winged dinosaur be integrated into the floor at Meadows Mall in Las Vegas. All she had to work from was an 81/2 x 11-inch sketch of the dinosaur. Zambon went to the local copy store and asked to have it blown up to the requested size. "The guy shows up with rolls and rolls of paper ... He had to help us lay it out because there's no way we would have known where everything goes," she said.
Then Zambon, a world-class designer who has been a part of some of the most prestigious concrete floor projects in the world, had to carefully cut out all the skeletal pieces from the rolls of paper to ultimately work in the design in the concrete floor. "But it turned out awesome," she said. "The industry has come such a long way." Meanwhile, Zambon said she has been pleasantly surprised at how well received the new company has been. Vendors, architects, and designers are feeding Zambon leads, based primarily on the reputation she built while at Arcon. "It was great training and I got to go all over the world," she said. "I think the most important thing I've learned is what not to do." For example, one of the goals is to have an employee-owned company. "They are as important as anybody else ... We want to give everybody a piece of the pie and set up 401(k) plans ... We want everyone to be happy and have fun," she said. And what does Zambon think the future has in store for concrete? "Like everything else, it's probably riding a wave right now," she said. "But concrete has more lasting power. It's pliable, especially everything you can do with it when it comes to design." Zambon said people are sometimes surprised by the cost. "It's not cheap. It's more than marble. But it will do something that no other material can do." artSCAPE: Las Vegas Michele Dawson writes each week on one of the contractor members of The Concrete Network (www.concretenetwork.com). She has written about the home building industry for several years and was on the public affairs staff of the California Building Industry Association. Visit artscape: Las Vegas web site Find a Concrete Contractor 23 Services in 200 Metros -- U.S. and Canada © 2008 ConcreteNetwork.com None of this site may be reproduced without written permission |
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