Apr 4, 2021
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New York’s Touristy New Public Space is a Giant Endless Staircase

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Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Where the High Line ends and Midtown begins you will find Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in US history.

The extraordinary centerpiece of Hudson Yards is its spiral staircase, a soaring new landmark meant to be climbed. This interactive design piece was imagined by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio as a focal point where people can enjoy new perspectives of the city and one another from different heights, angles and vantage points.

Comprised of 154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs—almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings—with nearly one mile of vertical climb above the Public Square and Gardens, this landmark will offer photo opps galore.

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

46 meters (151 ft) in height, Vessel drew inspiration from the ancient stepwells of India. Polished copper-coloured undersides contrast with the raw painted steel surfaces of the frame. Heatherwick Studio wanted to create a structure that visitors could use, touch, and relate to.

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

The structure was assembled out of 75 prefabricated pieces fabricated in Monfalcone, Italy by Cimolai S.p.A. and then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to their permanent home in New York.

 

Photograph Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

 

Photograph Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

 

Photograph Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

 

Photograph Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio

 

At 11 hectares, Hudson Yards includes more than 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, more than 100 shops, a collection of restaurants, approximately 5,000 residences, a unique cultural space, 14 acres of public open space, a 750-seat public school and a 200-room Equinox branded luxury hotel. When completed in 2024, more than 40,000 people a day will either work in or call Hudson Yards their home.

 

Photograph Courtesy of Related-Oxford

 

 

Article Categories:
ARCHITECTURE · art · BEST OF · DESIGN · TRAVEL

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