Thomas Heatherwick's Vessel at Hudson Yards Sparks Controversy in New York

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a new urban structure called Vessel, designed by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, to be built at Hudson Yards, a 45-hectare megadevelopment in West Manhattan connecting Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. The project, commissioned by Stephen M. Ross, billionaire chairman of Related Companies, has an estimated cost of over $150 million. Vessel is a honeycomb-like tower made of 154 interlocking staircases and 80 viewing platforms, rising 16 stories and 45 meters high, constructed from prefabricated steel and bronze pieces manufactured in Monfalcone, Italy. Heatherwick described the design as inspired by Indian stepwells, aiming to create a public gathering space rather than a static sculpture. The structure has already drawn criticism from The New York Times, which called it "a stairway to nowhere." Vessel is situated at the northern end of the High Line, adjacent to eight new mixed-use buildings and a park designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects. The project is part of a larger masterplan by architects including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SOM, and KPF.