January 2024

Facades: Project Focus
THE SPHERE: THE SHAPE OF THINGS
TO COME...
Las Vegas, Nevada – the desert city that plays host to some of the most sensational
landmarks in the world. From luxury hotels to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Las Vegas
has it all. However, now the city has revolutionised the live performance experience
with a skyline defining architectural sensation – The Sphere. In this article, Dan Vinet,
from Kalzip Inc. USA, explains how the company helped achieve The Sphere’s unique
structure...
The Sphere is the largest spherical structure
in the world, which is some feat in itself,
but couple this with the fact that The
Sphere is also an event space that can
accommodate 17,600 seated visitors and an
additional 20,00 standing visitors, and the
achievement is bolstered even further. With over
165,000 speakers, some of which are embedded
in the floor, the audience benefits from the best
possible sound effects in every position in the
space. There are also revolutionary 4D elements
installed in the space to effect everything from
temperature changes to smells and even wind.
Despite all of this world-leading technology, the
true star is the outer envelope of the spherical
structure. Kalzip was commissioned to construct
and install the ‘Exosphere’. A challenge even for
specialists, due to the shell being such a unique
element of the building. Approximately 1.2 million
LED pucks are mounted on it, each puck consists
of 48 individual LED diodes and each of these
programmable diodes can display 256 million
colours. These provide visitors with a breathtaking,
18K – sharp, almost 360° visual
experience and make the ‘Exosphere’ the largest
screen in the world.
The envelope itself consists of approximately 170
tonnes of profiled aluminium panels, which were
prepared for use in the Koblenz factory. On site in
Las Vegas, approximately 4,500 profiled sheets
were then further manufactured and prepared for
installation. This was no simple task, as each of
The Sphere in Las Vegas: Kalzip was commissioned
to construct and install the ‘Exosphere’ –
approximately 1.2 million LED pucks are mounted on
its exterior, each puck consists of 48 individual LED
diodes and each of these programmable diodes can
display 256 million colours.
the aluminium profiles is approximately 8m 2 in
size and weigh 35kg.
Firstly, the aluminium panels were cut to the right
length and the individual recesses for sound
holes and ventilation grilles were added so that
the aluminium profiles fit inside and next to each
other on the round surface with millimetre
precision. In the last step, the profiles were
cleaned and loaded onto specially made transport
trolleys, in which each transport trolley held 14
profile panels.
Even the transport trolleys themselves were
moved to the lofty heights of The Sphere as the
prepared sheets were transported to the
construction site and lifted vertically onto the
building envelope with the help of special cranes,
together with the transport trolleys attached to
ropes, and were then installed. The mammoth
32 TC JANUARY 2024