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SHOWCASE: Mohegan Sun's Divergent Needs

By John Parkinson

To understand the motivations behind the Mohegan Sun's Eagleview Employee Center and Mohegan Tribe Public Safety Complex is to view the facilities' distinct dichotomies. The employee center was built with the premise of creating an environment for the hotel and casino's employees' accommodation and enjoyment. The public safety complex was built to house the police, fire, security, and code departments of the Mohegan Sun Reservation located in Uncasville, CT.

Looking at the former of the two, it is easy to see the deep influence of the Mohegan tribe on the design. Paintings, petroglyphs, and the tribe's logo embedded in the center all convey the history of the Mohegans' culture, but also exudes a serenity that gives employees a reprieve from the excitement and hectic pace of working the casino floor.

The public safety area has a distinct wood decor that dominates the design of the offices and shows a naturalistic elegance. The two facilities are adjoined and are located at the base of a hotel parking lot. While the idea of being connected to a parking facility may not sound very appealing, the interiors of the facilities are what make these essential employee areas unique.

The project, completed in the summer of 2000, encompasses 60,000 square feet and cost a total of $29 million. The design of the facilities was undertaken by the New York City office of Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors, Inc (BBGM).

The Centerpiece And Amenities

The courtyard lounge is the centerpiece for the employee center. It is not only the heart of the center metaphysically, but it is the middle point logistically that leads to other areas of the center. It can also be used as a meeting area or a relaxation spot.

The layouts of the lounge and the employee center as a whole are based loosely on the Mohegan Sun logo. The logo consists of a circle at its center, which indicates the spiritual life force; four semicircles surrounding the circle stand for the four corners of the earth; next comes the four dots that represent the people that travel to the reservation; and four colored ears of corn-each one representing a different direction and season.

The logo has been translated into a series of seating groups and planters, all resting beneath dropped panels in soft, stylized leaf shapes that are meant to recall the forest canopy. The forest atmosphere is reinforced by a series of bark clad structural columns and smaller trees interspersed throughout the space.

Three cylindrical vestibules define the parameters of the tear drop shaped lounge. Two of the vestibules are covered in a three dimensional teak wood veneer weave, celebrating the rich Mohegan basket making tradition. The third area, which leads to the fitness center is finished in a light khaki Ultrasuede.

"The training center took on a fall theme and the fitness center took on spring/summer theme," says Amy Jakubowski, principal interior designer, BBGM. "We created an entire rotunda based on the logo, so all four seasons were represented within the lounge area itself."

However, the motivation for the very existence of the employee center lies in its amenities. Mohegan Sun's management felt it was important to provide a recruitment tool for potential employees.

"People are very concerned with benefits," states Jakubowski. "It was a real directive from the director to do this for the employees."

The fitness center is an integral part of the amenities featured at Mohegan Sun. "It's an outstanding service to the employees," says Kevin Bogle, vice president of human resources.

Employees can take advantage of the gym's state of the art equipment. The gym houses treadmills, stairmasters, cross trainers, and EFX machines and each piece of equipment has an individual television with cable options. In addition, there is an aerobics room, weight room-with both nautilus and free weights-and a men's and a women's locker rooms. The facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it only costs employees $10 a month.

Not only does the company provide these workout facilities, but they have worked with a local hospital to develop health related programs. Lawrence & Memorial (L&M) hospital has a community outreach office located in the employee center. This collaboration allows employees to participate in smoking cessation and weight loss programs, as well as partake in general office visits, blood pressure and flexibility screenings, and body fat assessments-all at the L&M Wellness Center.

Exposure To The Culture

The decision to develop the Native American motif has given the other non-Mohegan employees a greater understanding of the tribe and provided a feeling of inclusion. One example of the visual impact the facilities display lies along the walls of the public safety complex and the subtle design of the "Trail of Life and Suntrails." These curvilinear designs are defined as following the up and down path of life and the east-west path of the sun. The perimeter corridors have a delicate inlaid wood pattern representing the trail at the top of the walls, offset by a collection of Mohegan icons above each doorway. Some of these icons include deer, leaves, sunflowers, moons, suns, snowflakes, and strawberries.

While the logo, decor, and artwork are all good starting points in exposing people to the Mohegans' traditions, there are other resources officials use in obtaining a greater understanding of the tribe's culture. During the training process, new hires are provided with a pamphlet named "The Secret Guide." This pamphlet discusses the tribe's important symbols, the history of some of its significant peoples, and gives definitions of tribal words used in the hotel and casino. A video about the tribe and a tour of the facilities fills in the blanks and extends the employees' education.

State Of The Art Technology

While the artwork and decor honor the history of the Mohegans, there is also some very contemporary technology and equipment to compliment the facilities' needs. An example of the high-tech solutions used at Mohegan Sun comes in the form of one of its most important security features: the CCTV system. The CCTV is digital and made by Durango, CO-based Loronix. While the casino is on a second, separate system, it has a double redundancy that allows the public safety CCTVs to view inside the casino or vice versa in an emergency situation.

Another area of the equipment's state of the art capabilities lies in its ability to scan to a potential fire area for further inspection. "If someone pulls a fire alarm in one of the garages, all the cameras that have the point, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) feature will turn and focus in on that area before an operator tells it to," explains Joseph Lavin, executive director of public safety. "We have married our CCTVs with our fire alarm." This feature allows officials to scan to the problem area and see what they are up against before sending personnel to the trouble spot.

One look at the Mohegan Sun Casino's training center or public safety complex, and visitors can feel the Native American heritage irradiating through the walls, the furniture, and the overall design. Between the naturalistic interiors, the newest technology, and immense luxury of amenities, the company has provided all the reasons for potential employees to work at this top notch hotel and casino.