Description

The High Roller in Las Vegas, Nevada, is now the world’s tallest observation wheel. It opened to the public on 31 March 2014.

The High Roller carries 28 cabins each accommodating up to 40 passengers. Each cabin is a complex entity in its own right, somewhere between a building and an automobile in terms of design considerations. As well as having to provide an entertaining and pleasant experience with excellent day and night views and the sense of being on top of the world, they had to be engineered to function in what is essentially a desert environment.
The basic structure is formed around two hemispherical steel frames connected to the slewing bearing that sits within a structural steel ring mounted to the wheel rim.
Developing a viable glazing system was a key factor in the reference design, and achieving both the highest visual quality and the highest solar-thermal performance of the glazing was essential to the design’s success.