Vessel by Heatherwick Studio is a new type of public landmark – a 16-storey circular climbing frame, with 2,465 steps, 80 landings and views across the Hudson River and Manhattan.

It is the central feature of the main public square in the Hudson Yards development, one of the largest real estate projects in American history, which is transforming a former rail yard in Manhattan’s Upper West Side into a completely new neighbourhood, with more than five acres of new public spaces and gardens.

Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio, 2019, landmark, public, New York, vessel
VESSEL WITH THE SHOPS & RESTAURANT AT HUDSON YARDS – COURTESY OF MICHAEL MORAN FOR RELATED-OXFORD

Heatherwick Studio was asked to design a centrepiece for Hudson Yards, something that would welcome visitors into the heart of the district and create a new place to meet in Manhattan. Part of the challenge was to create something memorable that would not be overwhelmed by the surrounding cluster of towers, or the scale of the new public space above the train platform.

Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio, 2019, landmark, public, New York, vessel
VESSEL AND EXTERIOR OF THE SHOPS & RESTAURANTS AT HUDSON YARDS – COURTESY OF FRANCIS DZIKOWSKI FOR RELATED-OXFORD

Exploring different possibilities, the team started to narrow the parameters: it should be a memorable single object, not a series of objects dispersed throughout the space; rather than an inert, static sculpture, it should be a social encounter, which encourages activity and participation – it should be fun.

VESSEL INTERIOR  – COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

Looking at the places in cities where people naturally congregate, the underlying infrastructure is often simple – a
staircase, for example, such as the famous Spanish Steps in Rome. Researching this typology further, the studio
explored traditional Indian stepwells; these have an intricate network of stone stairs, so that as the water level in the
reservoir changes, the surface is still accessible. However, like an amphitheatre, the focus of a well is its centre, and
the studio wanted to create an experience that was outward as well as inward-looking.

Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio, 2019, landmark, public, New York, vessel
VESSEL WITH VIEW OF HUDSON RIVER – COURTESY OF MICHAEL MORAN FOR RELATED-OXFORD


Vessel is the landmark of the Hudson Yards development, one of the largest real estate projects in American history.

Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio, 2019, landmark, public, New York, vessel
VESSEL INTERIOR – COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

Every element of the Vessel is bespoke, from the joints to the handrails. The 75 huge steel components were produced in Venice by specialist fabricator Cimolai, before being brought from Italy in six shipments, carried across the Hudson River by barge, and assembled on site in a process that took three years. Yet despite the size of the Vessel, it has been designed at a human scale, to be climbed, explored and enjoyed by New Yorkers and visitors – a simple structure, animated by people and the reflections of the square beneath.

Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio, 2019, landmark, public, New York, vessel
VESSEL INTERIOR – COURTESY OF MICHAEL MORAN FOR RELATED-OXFORD

Plans

SITE PLAN
ROOF PLAN
GROUND PLAN
NORTH ELEVATION
SECTION
EXPLODED AXO

Facts & Credits
Project Name Vessel
Location  Hudson Yards, New York
Completion date  March 2019
Area / height  2,210 square metres / 45.7 metres

Design   Heatherwick Studio
Design Director  Thomas Heatherwick
Group Leader  Stuart Wood
Project Leader  Laurence Dudeney
Project team
Charlotte Bovis, Einar Blixhavn, Antoine van Erp, Felipe Escudero, Thomas Farmer, Steven Howson, Jessica In, Nilufer Kocabas, Panagiota Kotsovinou, Barbara Lavickova, Alexander Laing, Elli Liverakou, Pippa Murphy, Luke Plumbley, Ivan Ucros Polley, Daniel Portilla, Jeff Powers, Matthew Pratt, Peter Romvári, Ville Saarikoski, Takashi Tsurumaki

Client Related, Oxford Properties Group
Design Engineers AKTII
Structural Engineers  Thornton Tomasetti
Landscape Architects  Nelson Byrd Woltz
Architect of Record  KPF Associates
Steel Contractor  Cimolai
Lift Contractor  Cimolai Technologies
Cladding Contractor  Permasteelisa
Crowd Analysis  ARUP
Lighting Designers  L’Observatoire International
Project Management  Tisham


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