Las Vegas is no stranger to huge, out-of-this-world architectural projects. They have hotels imitating ancient Greek Architecture, a mini–Eiffel Tower, massive fountains, replicated canals of Venice, and much more. This year, Vegas took on another colossal project, “The Sphere.” The sphere is an amazing concert hall that opened in September, and featured a performance from the Irish Rock band, U2.

The Vegas Sphere is a 2.3-billion-dollar, giant dome shaped building situated right next to the world-famous Las Vegas strip. The building is 115 m tall and 157 m wide, entirely covered in a video screen. The exterior screen of the Sphere was lit up for the first time on July 4^th of this year and has been shining bright ever since. The video screen undergoes transformations continuously. – At times, it takes on the appearance of a globe, and sometimes a basketball. Occasionally, it looks like a giant eyeball staring you down as you stroll along the strip. During my trip to Vegas this summer, it was amazing to see this wonderful building morph into different objects, especially at night when it shone bright. Not only is the Sphere the largest video screen in the world, but it also holds the throne for the largest spherical building in the world. These features make the exterior of the sphere an attraction, but on the inside, things get even more fascinating.

The interior of the Sphere is designed for concerts, award shows, and other live events. Its first show was Sept. 29^th, when U2 kicked off their three-month residency at the Sphere. Not only is the Sphere a screen on the outside, but on the inside of the building the audience is surrounded by another screen that is programmed to go along with whatever show is in progress. Watching a show at the Sphere is not only a visual experience, but an experience that stimulates many senses. Since the building is primarily built for music, builders ensured that it offers great sound to all seats. There are over 160,000 speakers spread around the entire dome, giving every one of its 18,000 seats the same audio quality, no matter where they are in the dome.Furthermore, each member of the audience is equipped with haptic seats that synchronize with the on-screen action. These are just a fraction of the capabilities of the Sphere. It also has temperature control, wind simulation, and aromatic dispensers that enhance the audience’s immersion in the on-screen world. Despite its primary purpose as a music venue, there are plans to host sports events like MMA fighting and racing, with Formula 1 cars zooming around the Sphere’s grounds. 

The Sphere is one of Vegas’ most amazing architectural feats to date. It provides an immersive live show experience unlike any other, one that fans of U2 got to experience for the first time on September 29^th.