New York’s viewing platform The Vessel has caused Heatherwick studio many image problems. Initial admiration for the impressive labyrinth of stairs passes with the thought of the sense of such an investment. The press likened The Vessel to a very expensive failure, and there was a text in the trade paper Dezeen explicitly calling the building bad architecture. The nail in the coffin of the project was incidents of suicide jumps from the viewing platform. However, five years on from The Vessel, is the criticism of the project still justified?
An Eiffel Tower to match
The idea for a huge open staircase was conceived back in 2013, when the chairman of the Hudson Yards Redevelopment project met with Thomas Heatherwick. The British architect’s idea immediately appealed to the chairman, which in turn resulted in a quick decision to implement it. The chairman’s idea for The Vessel was to be a kind of ‘year-round Christmas tree’ that would distinguish Hudson Yards on the map of New York.
The design called for a labyrinth of stairs rising upwards. The 46 m tall structure was to offer great views of the area around the west side of Manhattan and the Hudson River. The regularly spaced staircase is meant to be reminiscent of Indian step wells, characterised by an even distribution of steps. The exterior of the building is reminiscent of a sort of open-air wasp’s nest, lined with copper panels that glisten in the sun. It is also worth mentioning that the entire structure consists of as many as 2,500 stairs, 80 platforms and 154 flights of stairs.
Between 2016 and 2017, the individual parts of The Vessel were built in Italy and then shipped by ship to America. 2016 was also the moment when the finished concept for the facility was officially presented, which was supported by then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The media interest and the support of the local government during the presentation was expected to convince residents of an unusual attraction for this part of the city.
The official opening ceremony took place as planned in March 2019. However, right from the start, the investment ran into some pretty serious image problems. The owners of Hudson Yards have reserved the copyright to all images immortalising The Vessel. Although the redevelopment of the Hudson River area is a private investment, the city has provided significant public funds to support the project, which is at odds with the copyright reservation. Seeing public outcry from residents and the media, the developer backed away from the controversial idea.
Controversy
The high-profile copyright issue proved to be the least of The Vessel’s problems over time. In February 2020, a young man jumped from the viewing platform. Several similar incidents forced the manager to temporarily close the facility. In May 2021, the platform was reopened. However, it soon became apparent that the lack of physical safeguards would continue to facilitate further tragedies. A fourth accident occurred just two months after the reopening, leading to another closure of the facility. Hudson Yards investment chairman Stephen Ross even considered closing The Vessel forever.
Almost three years after the last accident, the owners of the facility have announced that it will reopen. The structure, complete with safety nets, is expected to open at the end of 2024.
source: C-Guide, The Guardian, Dezeen
Also read: Architecture | Curiosities | New York | United States | Metal | Archialert | whiteMAD on Instagram
