khiemtran | Macau Photos - The Venetian Macao

The world's largest casino is also its fourth largest building...

From a distance, it looks huge, but even at this range it's deceptive. See the row of "buildings" in the foreground? They're actually all part of the same structure. None of the doors or windows are real. But there's still plenty of light inside, which we'll get to later...

Within The Venetian, trompe-l'oeil effects abound. This ceiling detail is just one example (the actual ceiling is completely flat and the "raised" ornamentation, complete with shadow, is just printed on (yes, I could have said "painted on", but I saw some details up close and they were definitely machine printed)).

The most spectacular ceilings, of course, are above the main casino.

Which is impressive until you step "outside"... The indoor streetscape was possibly the freakiest environment I've ever been in. It felt like walking inside a computer game or being trapped in a science fiction "dream" setting. Space station designers take note - this is serious "uncanny valley" territory. For a place so big, it's remarkable how claustrophobic it quickly becomes. The clouds appear to move as long as you keep walking. The upstairs windows are all fake.

"St Marco's Square". As with most casinos, everything about The Venetian is designed to keep you inside. No clocks, no windows, no obvious route to the exit. And even a 24 hour streetscape where it's never time to go home...