Vessel (structure) - Wikipedia

Structure

Vessel is a 16-story, 150-foot-tall (46 m)[1] structure of connected staircases among the buildings of Hudson Yards, located in the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Hudson Yards Public Square.[2] Designed by Thomas Heatherwick,[3] Vessel has 154 flights, 2,500 steps, and 80 landings,[3] with the total length of the stairs exceeding 1 mile (1.6 km).[4] The copper-clad steps, arranged like a jungle gym[5] and modeled after Indian stepwells,[4][6] can hold 1,000 people at a time.[3] The structure also has ramps and an elevator to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),[2] though only three of Vessel's landings are ADA-accessible as of 2019[update].[7]

Vessel is 50 feet (15 m) wide at its base, expanding to 150 feet (46 m) at the apex.[3] Stephen Ross, the CEO of Hudson Yards' developer Related Companies, said that its unusual shape was intended to make the structure stand out like a "12-month Christmas tree".[2] Heatherwick said that he intends visitors to climb and explore the structure as if it were a jungle gym.[8] At the top of the structure, visitors can see the Hudson River.[4]

Surroundings

Vessel is located in and was designed in concert with the Hudson Yards Public Square, designed by Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.[9] The 5-acre (2 ha) space hosts 28,000 plants and 225 trees in total.[10] A canopy of trees is located in the southern area of the plaza. The southeast entrance to the plaza also includes a fountain. A "seasonally expressive" garden stands across from Vessel outside the entrance to the New York City Subway's 34th Street–Hudson Yards station.[11] The plaza is also connected to the High Line, an elevated promenade that extends south of Hudson Yards.[12]

Cost and assembly

Although Vessel had originally been slated to cost $75 million,[2] the projections were later revised to between $150[3] and $200 million.[4] Heatherwick attributed the greatly increased price tag to the complexity of building the steel pieces.[2] The pieces of Vessel were assembled in the comune of Monfalcone in Italy.[2] Ships transported the sections of the sculpture to Hudson River docks.[4]

Name

"Vessel" was planned to be the structure's temporary name during construction, with a permanent name to be determined later.[12] After Vessel opened, Hudson Yards asked the public to give it a formal name, creating a website devoted to that effect.[13]