Choctaw Durant Casino / Hotel Expansion

As my first project at JCJ architecture in 2019, Choctaw Durant was both a shock and the most influential project for my career so far.  Starting in March of 2019, the project completed design and documentation in 9 months.  It featured a 1,000 guestroom hotel and over 1.5 million SF of casino gaming floor, theatres, restaurants, bars, a large resort pool, and 1500 space parking garage.  The project totaled $680 million when it was turned over to the owner in 2021.  

My role on the project was interior architecture for the hotel and various spaces around the podium.  I was ultimately responsible for the design of the 1832 Steakhouse, Hotel Lobby, VIP Lounge, Hospitality suite, guest room furniture / millwork, and all custom chandeliers.  It ended up being the most challenging design and documentation effort I’ve worked through and the experience gathered has made me very successful within JCJ.  The speed of the project meant many areas of the building were already constructed by the time we finished interior design so coordination was constant both with our consultant team and the construction team.   The day to day interaction with the construction team taught me the art of settling conflict and issues in the field rather than in the trailer.