Gambling on Color: Color-shifting panels light up Midwestern landscape
Las Vegas-style gaming experiences came to the Midwest with the opening of the new Jumer’s Casino & Hotel in Rock Island, Ill. Owned by Rock Island based Rock Island Boatworks Inc., the new facility replaced its Casino Rock Island Riverboat that had been moored since 1992 on the Mississippi River in the city’s downtown.
Opened in December 2008, the $151-million, 270,000-square-foot
(25,083-m2) complex includes a 170,000-square-foot (15,793-m2) casino and entertainment center connected to a five-story hotel.
From a distance visitors can tell they’re not in for the usual Midwestern casino experience-Jumer’s Casino & Hotel lights up the landscape with ever-changing color in broad daylight. The project features a total of57,083 square feet (5,303 m2) of 0.16-inch (4-mm) Alucobond aluminum composite material by 3A Composites USA Inc., Mooresville, N.C., including 36,580 square feet (3,398 m2) in Spectra Cupral and 20,503 square feet (1,905 m2) in custom Texas Copper. The Alucobond Spectra Colors are a new color finishing system for Alucobond ACM that change colors as different wavelengths of light are reflected back to the audience, depending upon the viewing angle.
According to Guy Davidson, design architect with Minneapolis-based KKE Architects Inc., creating a Las Vegas-style gaming experience at Jumer’s required a sleek and modern design that would help the complex stand out.
“We were blessed with a site bordered on three sides by freeway, with woods and a lake on the fourth side,” Davidson explained. “The complex produces a strong impact from a distance, almost like a billboard. By selecting Alucobond Spectra, we were able to complement our sleek, modern design through a simple bold stroke. The building tends to have two faces-one from a distance and one near-because the Spectra is a color-shifting, constantly changing material. Once you arrive at the complex, you’re still fascinated by it. With each shift of the sun and clouds, it changes color-from red to orange to almost brown.”
The color-shifting Alucobond Spectra complements the building’s design, which features a 400-foot- (122-m-) long casino façade with a large radius curve that meets a curve in elevation. “The building was designed exactly for what Spectra panels do,” Davidson said.
The Spectra Cupral panels also coordinated with the project’s gold reflective glass. The custom Texas Copper color served as a counterpoint, according to Davidson. The Alucobond in Texas Copper clads the building’s eyebrow canopy, and is also part of the two five-story signature “J” feature elements that are cut into both sides of the hotel and decorated with color-changing LED fixtures.
“We chose a sleek design with glass and metal panels,” said Quin Scot, principal at KKE Architects. “As you move toward the building and the sun moves, the building almost seems to move, with the Spectra panel colors shifting from metallic orange to dark wood red. It almost has a life of its own. It’s pretty dynamic. You don’t normally see this in a building.”
“We didn’t really know what we were getting and were a little skeptical,” said Ron Wicks, president, Jumer’s Casino & Hotel. “But these colors are amazing. What you see really depends on the viewing angle and the direction of the sun. The colors look most spectacular in the summer months and can range from red to light gold. It’s an eye-catcher. That’s what a lot of people talk about when they see this building.”
Jumer’s Casino & Hotel, Rock Island, Ill.
Completed: December 2008
Total square footage: 270,000 square feet
Owner: Rock Island Boatworks Inc., Rock Island
Architect: KKE Architects Inc., Minneapolis, www.kke.com
General contractor: Kraus-Anderson Construction Co., Minneapolis
Casino interior designer: Yates-Silverman Inc., Las Vegas
Distributor: EBP LLC, Excelsior, Minn.
Casino installer: M.G. McGrath Inc. Architectural Sheet Metal, Maplewood, Minn.
Hotel installer: SGH Inc., Omaha, Neb.,
Metal wall panels: 3A Composites USA Inc., Mooresville, N.C., www.alucobondusa.com
