Written by Jaden Parker
Due to the aforementioned unfortunate circumstances, I wasn’t able to properly tour the Vessel. However, I did get some neat pictures. I was actually applauded by some men waiting to take a picture in the perfect spot for doing the heart pose.
The Vessel has sixteen stories with 2,465 steps and 80 landings. It is the central feature of Hudson Yards. Designed by Heatherwick Studio with the help of Arup, the Vessel is self-supporting with a steel spine between each pair of staircases.
The underside of each staircase has copper-colored steel, and all the steel for the project was made in Venice, Italy. Inspired by the Indian stepwells of Rajasthan and the art of M. C. Escher, the project took roughly two years to complete. Arup provided engineering and consulting services, which included pedestrian planning with their MassMotion software. The software modeled peoples’ movements in order to predict impact on the stairs and landings and helped them determine the occupancy limit!
It’s saddening that it seems no one will ever be allowed up in the Vessel again due to the events of the past couple of years, but it’s still a beautiful structure all the same that everyone should get a chance to see in person.
