“Natural” is no doubt the best word to describe Michigan’s newest casino, the Gun Lake Casino in Bradley, Mich. Every aspect of the property weaves back into the culture of the Match-e-be-Nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians. And in February of this year, the casino opened its doors to overflow crowds.
Located right off the local highway, the property is between two of Michigan’s major cities, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. The project began five years ago with land-into-trust considerations, but the design and concept began two years ago between the tribe and the property’s management, Station Casinos.
The tribe was looking for a beautiful property with tribal influences that weren’t too over the top, but an extension of their culture. There to do the job was Friedmutter Group. Before construction began, Friedmutter Group met with the tribe to get a feel of their tribal colors, culture, history and goals to be able to marry it with the land on which the property would sit.
Albie Colotto, Friedmutter Group’s director of design, explained that going into this project, there wasn’t a concrete theme. Rather, “The overall concept is that it’s indigenous,” he said. “It feels like it was meant to be there—like it’s another rolling hill in the landscape.”
Earth tones were prevalent, and indigenous organic materials from the area were incorporated. The whole design really came right from the surroundings.
Linnae Eastwood, interior designer for Friedmutter Group, also explained that they used a lot of basketweaving concepts, such as in the way they laid stone or in the carpet’s design. “With that, we looked at some of the ways they wove their material together and then we took that and made it something that was familiar to the tribe, but at the same time was done in a more contemporary manner,” Colotto said.
A key idea Friedmutter Group considered when they designed Gun Lake Casino was the property’s appearance as visitors drove up. The casino experience here begins quite literally a mile away, as the building beautifully blends into its surroundings. Careful lighting at night accents the property to create a mood and ambiance upon approach.
Strong geometric shapes frame the porte cochere, and exterior columns use natural limestone materials. The casino’s entry is low so that as you come in from the world outside, you go through a compression space, and then in the casino it opens up again. “We were toying a little bit with people’s sense of emotion and sense of scale,” Colotto commented.
Describing how seamlessly the exterior works into the interior, Colotto said: “It really does fit the site. It’s like a flower in a meadow. It’s beautiful, and then when you go inside it really just picks up that same quality.”
Down on the gaming floor, everything is custom, from the slot carols to the lighting fixtures, carpeting and wall coverings. “Everything we did on the project was customized for the customer,” Colotto said. It all solidifies the concept of an indigenous entertainment casino in Michigan, particular to the exact area and also to the tribe.
“In the carpet, we incorporated a lot of the tribe’s beadwork in shapes of the native flora and fauna,” Eastwood added. “Another finish that we used in the casino was the split face limestone on all of the columns so it brought the outdoors inside and created unification.”
The ceiling is another unique element on the gaming floor. Floating curves were put in to pick up the curvature that’s in the surrounding areas. “A lot of times when you go into casinos, the thing you see the most are the machines and the ceiling,” Colotto noted. “We wanted to make sure that when people were taking that break from the machine and looking up at the ceiling that they were getting that same soft curve that they had on their drive to the site.”
Light fixtures also contain earth tones, and are finished with honey onyx and faux alabaster. Six-foot carved Amber glass sconces are set in antiqued copper frames. The lighting here was custom designed by Friedmutter Group and fabricated by iWORKS.
An extension of the casino, the Stage Bar is used for live entertainment. Here, a color scheme of deep purple and cool grays represent water in this modern lounge. The gaming floor has more than 2,300 slot machines, 17 gaming tables, and an additional 22 slot machines are located in the Casino Bar.
Colotto commented that it’s a lot like spring in there. Michigan can get very cold, so it was important to both the tribe and to Station Casinos that when customers come in, they feel a freshness and warmth, providing an escape from what’s behind that 12-inch wall.
Another area that represents cultural importance is one of the facility’s dining establishments, the Sand Hill Crane Café. Sand hill cranes are migratory birds from the area and hold much tribal influence and tradition. Colotto said it’s the little details like that that might go unnoticed to the average person, but means a lot to the tribe.
This café has a high-end, grand café design. Marble mosaic tiles accent the gold marble flooring, hand painted artwork adorns the Venetian plaster-finished walls and trails around the walnut wood columns. The exterior walls have fabric canopies and decorative metal above a 9-foot high sculptured glass artwork that depicts the Sand Hill Cranes.
Even the gift shop is a reflection of local culture, as area artists and merchants are welcomed to sell their products.
Only fitting with tribes’ concern of the environment, green building was practiced here. Many of the materials and fabrics used were local. Green is a growing trend, Colotto shared. “From fabric, to carpet, even the way they lay the carpet down—it’s now considered a green technique for laying the carpet.”
At Gun Lake, the tribe also did an environmental impact study on the site. Friedmutter Group took all the necessary means of the surrounding areas to make sure it was all kept intact. “It takes a lot of painstaking detail to make sure that you don’t impact the areas that are beautiful and existing there,” Colotto stated. “We’re doing quite a large project there, and making sure we don’t affect it.”
For the project, the tribe worked very closely with Station Casinos, Friedmutter Group and the contractors. Having such a close working relationship proved to be a great experience for all. In fact, when asked about memorable moments during the project, the whole Friedmutter Group team cited the tribe’s involvement. “This tribe is a great group of people,” Dan Doran, designer at Friedmutter, said. “They care about the people around them.”
“They definitely have a pride of ownership, which we love,” Colotto added. “We love when we get with an owner and they give us their thoughts and ideas and we’re able to, as artists, create an architectural sculpture for them.”
The tribe has much to be proud of. With such a successful opening—one that overloaded freeways—the future is sure to be naturally bright as well.
KEY PLAYERS
Owner: Gun Lake Tribe of Pottawatomi Indians
Manager: MPM Enterprises LLC, Station Casinos
Architect: Friedmutter Group
Interior Design: Friedmutter Group
Contractors: Station Construction LLC, Skanska USA
Amanda Huggett is the Managing Editor for Casino Enterprise Management. She can be reached at (701) 293-7775 or editor2[at]aceme.org.
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