Interview With Joyen Vakil, Senior Vice President Of Design & Development For MGM Resorts International

Joyen Vakil, Senior Vice President of Design & Development for MGM Resorts International is not your typical North American architect. Approachable, humble and low-key, the design director of world-class hospitality destinations such as Bellagio, Aria and MGM Grand seemingly has found his occupational Nirvana in America. In a proud yet gentle way, he’s on a mission to make tomorrow’s luxury resort architectural projects even better than today’s. Joyen grew up in Mumbai, India where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture, graduating as class Gold Medalist both in his first and fifth 
years of study.

In 1989, he relocated stateside, pursuing his MS in Building Design at Arizona State University. He initially worked for a Civil Engineer, 
but as fate would have it, relocated to Las Vegas less than a year later, joining a developer’s team. Roughly three years later, an architectural firm specializing in the Resort/Casino industry hired him. “It provided me with a great learning experience,” he stated.  “During that time frame, I obtained my Architectural licensure and NCARB certification and received my MBA.” After leaving that firm, he managed the Las Vegas office for a national architectural firm. During that time, he was pursued by the local MGM, which he subsequently joined as Director of Architecture to head up its Architectural Department.

Commercial Construction & Renovation Magazine recently met with Mr. Vakil:

CC&R: What are some of the current design trends seen in luxury resort hotels/casinos? 

JV: What’s trending now is for each individual property to focus on cultivating product offerings and services to appeal to the next generation. When the millennials take over as being our number one target market, what will they demand? What will they want? Re-invention is the key word. Technology is changing every transaction today. I remember my dad, when leaving the house, steadfastly making sure he had his keys and his wallet. Today, making sure one has his/her smart phone when leaving home is just as vital. And many people, myself included, are now going ‘keyless,’ as well. My point being is that in particular, our hotel designs must fit in with this mammoth, ongoing re-invention necessity. 

CC&R: Is there an overall architectural & design “goal program” for MGM Resorts?

JV: Good question. Perhaps the best way to answer that is to quote Einstein. He stated, “If you’re expecting different results, do something different.” We completely agree with that mindset. MGM offers different design strategies developed to both complement and re-invent. We always want to raise the bar in every possible way; that might mean totally re-doing an existing property from top to bottom, inside and out… or, just lightly tweaking another one. All of this is based upon knowing what our clientele of both today and tomorrow wants. I like to think that, immodestly, we get into their heads, way before 
they get into our rooms, restaurants and casinos!

CC&R: So many of MGM resort venues have extremely lavish pool environments. Is there a specific mindset on how best to create one of these?

JV: Again, we must think “re-invention.” Years ago, the life of a resort’s pool area would basically stop every day at 7:00 pm. That has changed. Now, it’s a nearby destination synonymous with relaxation around the clock; a place where one person or many come to decompress. For example in locations such as Las Vegas or South Miami Beach, pool venues at major hotels have been totally re-purposed over the last decade. And this re-purposing is based totally on knowing the demographics of customers. Do they like to listen to music outdoors? Do people enjoy dining poolside? All of this and more are considered prior to any architectural plans being created. Demographics 
drive design. 

CC&R: You were on the panel of judges which selected the Design ‘N Gather 2016 winning 20' x 8' backlit mosaic mural installed on the wall of the Las Vegas MGM Grand’s legendary “Wet Republic” poolside day club. There were many great submittals. Why did you choose that specific one?

JV: I liked the idea of getting the design community involved. The unveiling of this mural took place at the “Party by the Pool” during HD Expo; attendees included well over 1,500 hospitality designers. Our new mural was an expression of tomorrow’s technology relative to producing this type of artwork. Visually, it was electrifying. The sponsors of the competition, Bostik and Artaic Innovative Mosaic, exhibited strong versatility of production for this medium, offering an interesting forum for expression. From my standpoint, I was intrigued by the process of robotic mosaic mural production combined with a grouting material containing glass that further illuminated the glass mosaic tiles, giving the visual a life of its own. I also found and enjoyed the process of deciding upon the best of so many excellent designs, to be quite awesome. 

CC&R: For the commercial construction sector, what do you see as the future for large-scale hospitality resort projects?

JV: I’m fortunate to sit on the board of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and intermittently travel to both Taliesin in Wisconsin and Taliesin West in Arizona to interface with both faculty and students. I’ve always been a fan of organic architecture and having this conduit with the talent of tomorrow, helps me grow, as well. I love how the students there have such a strong belief in bringing in organic materials at a macro level to their respective projects. And, through that mindset, it clearly appears that architectural design can indeed go full circle. It’s great to see more organic, natural materials brought back into design.

 

To learn more, read the full interview with Mr. Vakil: Commercial Construction & Renovation Magazine One-on-one with…MGM Resort International’s Joyen Vakil

 

Joyen Vakil was on the panel of esteemed judges for Design ‘N Gather 2016 (DNG), the international mosaic design competition sponsored by Bostik and Artaic Innovative Mosaic. Bostik's Dimension® RapidCure™ Glass-Filled, Pre-Mixed Urethane Grout was used as a design element for the winning back-lit mural Delta Waves by designer Nicole Faith Kohri that was installed at the MGM Grand “Wet Republic” poolside day club. The competition has been expertly chronicled via a state-of-the-art video. Click HERE to see it on YouTube.