Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | August 2010 20 The Original ‘G’ How a Mercedes-Benz supercar inspired Asian casino design The SLS AMG The 300 SL Coupe G ullwing doors (car doors that are hinged at the roof rather than the side) were pioneered by Mercedes-Benz in 1952 with the 300 SL race car. The road legal 300 SL Coupe followed in 1954 and was the fastest production car of its day. The 300 SL’s iconic door design actually sprang from engineering necessity. Longtime Mercedes-Benz engineering meister Rudi Uhlenhaut had designed the 300 SL’s chassis in racing car fashion, employing a nest of welded steel tubing to make it as stiff as possible. This included the doorsills, which Uhlenhaut extended so far upward that pivoting the doors in the conventional manner simply wouldn’t work. Hence the creation of Gullwings, which went on to be incorporated by other supercars, including the DeLorean featured in the ‘Back to the Future’ movie franchise and the Bricklin SV-1. World-leading casino architect Paul Steelman brought Gullwings to the gaming floor, also as a solution to a practical problem. Observing gambling in Macau is“a spectator sport,” Mr Steelman conceived of a stadium- style design for the casino at Sands Macao. If the lights and surveillance cameras were set in the high ceilings, the lights would be too bright and the cameras ineffective, so Mr Steelman came up with the ‘G-wings’ above the individual tables to house them. G-wings are bound to become an enduring feature of casino design, and are already prominent on the main floors of Macau’s Grand Lisboa and