News Center Home > Architectural > Case Study PROJECT The Forum Shops at Caesars, Las Vegas, Nevada ARCHITECT Dougall Design Assoc., Inc. OWNER Melvin Simon & Assoc., Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Marnell Corrao Assoc. DRYWALL CONTRACTOR M.J. DiBiase/Simmons Contracting CASTINGS CONTRACTOR Cederquist Inc. PROJECT Texas Capitol Preservation and Extension Project, Austin, Texas ARCHITECT 3D/International, Inc. OWNER State Preservation Board GENERAL CONTRACTOR Charter Builders, Inc. CASTINGS CONTRACTOR Casting Designs, Inc. HYDROCAL® FGR Gypsum Cement Allows Architecture of Past Centuries to be Simply, Inexpensively Recreated   The Forum Shops in Las Vegas The Texas State Capitol in Austin Replicating the look of the Roman Empire on the strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, was neither as expensive nor as complex as one would expect as a result of using HYDROCAL® FGR Gypsum Cement. In keeping with the Roman Empire theme of the entire Caesars Palace development, The Forum Shops were designed to be a Roman streetscape. There were as many as six independent firms used to produce molded elements, including columns, balustrade, statuary bases and cornices. Once completed, the separate elements were assembled, caulked and antique painted with a faux marble finish. On a short stroll  through the Texas State Capitol in Austin, you can step from the original 105-year-old structure to a new $64 million building and hardly realize it. The deception results partly because the 615,000 sq. ft., two-level extension of the historic Capitol Building is entirely below ground, leaving the building facade untouched. Even more deceiving, however, is that the columns, pilasters and frieze elements in the new building are similar in size and style to those in the older building, obscuring the difference between one and the other. These new elements were also created efficiently and economically with lightweight HYDROCAL® FGR Gypsum Cement. For additional information, contact the Industrial Products Division of United States Gypsum Company at P.O. Box 806278, Chicago, IL 60680-4124, call (800) 487-4431 or visit the division's Web site at www.gypsumsolutions.com. The Industrial Products Division of United States Gypsum Company is a leading producer and marketer of a wide range of industrial products used in manufacturing, tooling, plastics, coatings, construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food processing, statuary, ceramics, road repair and other applications. United States Gypsum Company is a subsidiary of USG Corporation, a Fortune 500 company with business units that are market leaders in their key product groups: gypsum wallboard, joint compound and related gypsum products; cement board; gypsum fiber panels; ceiling panels and grid; and building products distribution.