I never was in support of the Casino in Milwaukee. I've always said, if someone can't afford to go to Las Vegas they can't afford to gamble. Of course, I should question my logic since much more than gambling occurs there. Things I am no way in support of. It may be best to stay far away from Las Vegas all together.
But I have several relatives that go to the casino here regularly and my wife has always wanted to visit since she knows friends who go occasionally and talk about it. So I took my wife to the Asian restaurant, RuYi, for her birthday. It was right off the floor and too noisy for my taste, but the food was clearly very fresh and well prepared. Excellence obviously a pronounced goal of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino. My wife was looking for sushi, but I should have guessed with the older clientele and short shelf life that we wouldn't find any there. They have fine dining also, isolated from the gambling floors.
But how are Casino's designed? When the Casino was approved I was working at American Design and had commented to the managing Architect, first of all my views on gambling previously stated and, on the Casino design. I suggested windows.
American Design didn't work on the casino but did work on the Milwaukee Connector study. Something, I made clear to everyone I worked with, I thought was redundant and unnecessary. A misuse of the tax payer's dollars, though I did the work I was told to do. I also made clear my opposition to the Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee Commuter Link (KRM), in favor of simply extending the Chicago Metra service farther north, something the public prefers two to one over the KRM, if needed (it's not, Amtrak fills the need if any exists). I attended one in office meeting with HNTB as we worked together on the 'Milwaukee Connector.' Others were scheduled on my days off or I was given out of office duties. I also had no knowledgeable opinion on the MPS school expansions we worked on, but did ask questions. "Are they necessary?" "Do they have that many students?"
Windows? The Casino was highly controversial and split the community. Many cited the downsides of gambling, how it can destroy peoples lives, during the debate. I suggested a compromise to embrace the whole community would be a design that didn't accommodate the maximization of profit. Views of the outdoors, natural vistas or a star filled sky to give the gamer a sense of a 'greater reality'. These could be actual or generated images. A window wall showing the valley in it's pre-European influenced state. Where the real world outdoor weather conditions could be matched with computer simulation. Or the allusion of an open roofed structure creating the star filled skies of the North Woods those of us in urban environments have been denied. Images that instill wonder at the beauty of the natural world, the passage of time and vastness of the universe. A 'Greater reality.' There are some nature motifs worked into the interior but they are inconsequential.
But Casinos are designed to focus all ones attention on gambling. It may be appropriate for a game of skill that requires ones attentions, but the majority of the floor is filled with slot machines. The design serves the client but how well does it serve the public? Yes, there is more to do than just gambling. And the Potawatomi have invested in programs to help those with problems and casinos have ways to find and track anyone with serious problems, but that deals only with the aftermath.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the leading professional membership association for licensed architects. It claims to hold its members to ethical standards. The law, in many ways, is a minimum standard, a minimal expectation of good conduct to support the mutual well being of a society. When we begin to speak of ethical standards that suggests striving for the highest possible standards, ....at least in my book. Their Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, while holding their members to a standard of public awareness and service beyond the norm, does not strive for absolutes. One should ask which is worse; claiming ethical standards you have no intention to pursue to their ends or mistaking technical and professional excellence for ethics? I certainly wasn't rewarded or acknowledged for any ethical queries I may have made on the job.
While we were driving to the Casino, less than ten minutes from our home, we had to pull over to allow some emergency vehicles to pass. They were there at the casino when we arrived. We saw on the news that a man had apparently killed himself in his car in the casino parking lot. There was no follow up in the media.
Does not design have a marked influence on human behavior and well being?
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