This document summarizes a reaction paper about the reader "Learning from Las Vegas" by Robert Venturi. The reader analyzed the symbolic architecture and forms in Las Vegas to understand contemporary urban sprawl. Venturi argued that in Las Vegas, symbols and signs took precedence over architectural form to communicate with drivers at high speeds. Examples included large flashy signs and the 1/3 scale Eiffel Tower replica in Paris Las Vegas Casino Resort. More broadly, the document suggests that in many commercial areas, signage and styles define spatial relationships more than architectural forms. To be a revolutionary architect requires accepting changes and analyzing everyday landscapes rather than ignoring or criticizing them.

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
(ARC61303)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (AUGUST 2018)
Name: Ng Lek Yuen ID No.: 0324010
Lecturer: Mr. Nicholas Ng Tutorial Time:
Reader/Text Title: Learning from Las Vegas Synopsis No: Text 2, Group A
Author: Robert Venturi, et al.
This reader is an architectural studio analysis project conducted by lecturers and students in Yale
School of Art and Architecture. The aim of discussion are to analyze the symbolism of architecture form of
Las Vegas in order to learn from contemporary urban sprawl. This is an insight study that challenged the
prevailing modernist aesthetic by presenting commercial roadside buildings and signage as inspiration for a
new, symbolic architecture.
Venturi mentioned in the reader, “symbol in space before form in space” explained Las Vegas
architecture of communication over space. Everywhere in Las Vegas are flashing with fluorescent lights,
human crowd are walking the entire length of the Vegas Strip, taxis and buses speeding and so much more.
On such high speeds, big spaces, complex programs road, styles and signs takes over architectural form to
make connections and deliver message to drivers on deciding where to go. He also expressed that
architecture of The Strip was communicated via bold statements rather than the subtle expression of the
traditional style. For instance, the Mobile Three-Star Paris Las Vegas Casino Resort owned a 1/3-scale replica
Eiffel Tower that offer elevator rides to observation deck with a breathtaking view of The Strip and it is
designed to create a sense of jaw-dropping wonder in the city’s visitors. These are just one of many few
elements that plays a role of capitalism over the feeling of the space.
This commercial sprawl is not just in Las Vegas. Look at the street of Jalan Besar in Klang or R. dos
Mercadores in Macau, building signage can be seen sit on street-facing façade or at the corner that attract
anyone who drives or walks past. This is because the spatial relationships are made by symbols, signs and
styles more than by forms, architecture becomes symbol in space rather than form in space. Architecture
turns out defines very little. In general, to be a revolutionary architect, we have to have an open heart accept
the part of change, recasting quotidian landscapes as objects to be analyzed rather than ignored or
denigrated.
Word Count: 342 Mark Grade
Assessed by: Date Page No.