[NYguy]

http://chelseanow.com/2017/05/hudson...rties-by-2019/

Sitting at the center of the project, the 15-story tall staircase Vessel is a new kind of public landmark comprised of 154 intricately interconnected flights of stairs and 80 landings, which are meant to be climbed and explored.

“In a city full of eye-catching structures, our first thought was that it shouldn’t just be something to look at. Instead we wanted to make something that everybody could use, touch, relate to,” said Thomas Heatherwick, designer and founder of Heatherwick Studio. “Influenced by images we had seen of Indian stepwells, made from hundreds of flights of stairs going down into the ground, an idea emerged to use flights of stairs as building elements.”

Construction officially began on Vessel last month, with the 75 prefabricated interlocking units by Cimolai S.p.A. being shipped from Italy to be assembled on-site. The first 10 pieces have already arrived, with the remaining pieces set to arrive and be lifted into place in the next year.

Vessel should open ahead of the Public Square and Gardens in fall 2018. The first 40 trees for the garden will be planted later this year, followed by more than 28,000 plant species and 200 mature trees. Together with the 200-foot-long fountain that mimics the flow of a river, this centerpiece should be a real eye-catcher.

Blake Hutcheson, President and CEO of Oxford Properties Group, said, “We have always believed that Hudson Yards would give New Yorkers a reason to look up. This spectacular piece by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio goes one step further — it not only gives people a reason to look up, but a reason to go up. A reason to explore and to engage with the city and with one another in a form that is both personal and communal at the same time.”