A Magnificent New NYC Centerpiece: Hudson Yards' The Vessel by Thomas Heatherwick

So earlier I was checking on rich people's Instagram posts and I came across a unique location. It says The Vessel and I've never heard of a place called such so I checked on it. Lo and behold what a surprise to see what it is!

As fascinating as it looks on Instagram, I felt I should get on over to Twitter and check what the people are saying. I mean, why aren't people in any of my feed talking about such a fantastic piece of usable structure? And then oof, I find out a lot seem to hate it. Uhmmm. 🤔🤔🤔 Looks pretty amazing to me!

What the Critics are Saying

Would love to put my sources but you can do the online research too if you have the time. Haha. So after reading several articles online and various online posts too, here's the top three negative things they say about it.

• The design stinks.
• What a big waste of money.
• It's a "secret" wallet bait.

Anyway, seeing as many people on the internet don't seem to like it, lemme share what I think of it too.

Points for Improvement of The Vessel

1 . The main thing I see that it needs is this: plants.

So of course it's some kind of huge vertical park but one thing I noticed about it from all the pictures and videos is the lack of natural life anywhere in it.

Perhaps the danger of putting plants in there would be seeds of whatever growing all over it and possibly ruining the look and whatnot. Or maybe the leaves would add to the things to clean or perhaps it could be a garbage magnet or whatever. However since it's a piece of public space in Hudson Yards, someone's sure to be cleaning and maintaining it right? What's the real harm of adding some beneficial potted greens and such in there somewhere? Ants?


2. Add some resting or sitting area

You can't sit on any of the stairs. You can spend more than 30 minutes in it but there's no place to sit on folks. How's that for an exercise place? Haha. (Maybe they allow you to sit on the floor? Lol.)

That's the very first thing I didn't like on here.

_Source


What else should you know about this fascinating thing? Read on! 😁

Things To Know About The Vessel

So this giant staircase thingy was unveiled in 2016, topped off in 2017 and opened to the public last March 15, 2019.

1 . It is 16 floors, 46 meters high and 150 feet wide with 154 staircases or 2,500 steps.

It's a steel structure which took around more than a year to build. Each big piece of it were constructed in Italy and then shipped to the US. Interesting eh?

_Source

It also has an elevator. Cool huh? No pets allowed except registered service animals though.

2 . The design is inspired by Indian stepwells.

Thomas and his team got their inspiration from India's water stepwells. They made it in such a way so it can interact with and bring people together rather than just be something to look at.


3 . It can only hold 700 people at a time.

Well, since it's pretty new, I'm sure there's a line just to get up there. Ooops, upon checking you have to book tickets online. (Here I am in Southeast Asia writing about a fascinating artsy/architectural structure in America. Haha.)

4 . It cost around $200 Million to build.

Oh man, talk about millions and New York real estate and I'm there. Lol. (Cause I'm a real estate agent for an international branded Ortigas luxury property worth millions in Philippine Peso).

Back in 2016 online articles said the cost would only be around $150 Million but it turns out the final cost became more than that. Building such a huge thing is probably why many people say it's a waste of money. At least it's not a purely useless monument or really ugly offensive art installation just for public viewing pleasure.

5 . Hudson Yards is calling for people to suggest a new name for it.

Yep, why not think of a better name for such a magnificent piece of architecture eh? But you'd have to sign up and register to their site in order to do so. There doesn't seem to be any money prize for the would be selected new name though. Can't find any mention of it so far. Uhm, talk about lead generation eh? Smart move. 😂


6 . Your Vessel pics and videos were initially not yours but theirs.

Talk about getting a bad rap just after being opened to the public half a month ago. Haha. After public clamor over Hudson Yards' terms and conditions of this giant public structure, they tweaked their statement to say any person has copyright to his/her own medias, like the photos and videos they took of it. However, the public gives Hudson Yards the right to use those photos/videos, etc., freely for promotion and such and you cannot sue them too, especially if you bought a ticket to get in it. Wow. Haha.

This is not a paid article at all (I wish 😂) but you can check more in their website.

_{Photo by Michael Moran}

What I Like About The Vessel

For me The Vessel is actually already perfect. So fascinating that it made me write an article just by finding out about it. Haha. The thing looks kind of out of this world so it's temporary name is actually perfect as it seems like something straight outta science fiction show. Wowza.

But of course if I wanted to suggest a name for it, it'd probably be something related to a pine cone or something. I mean look at it. Haha. Some name it after shawarma, pineapple and lots of other stuff but I'll go for something pine cone related.

Anyway, here's what I like about it:

1 . It can be an exercise or entertainment hub.

What better way to keep healthy by doing some cardio going up and down all those stairs eh? I've seen a post of someone saying he worked out by around all the stairs thrice!!! Can you believe it? Whew. Good thing people are allowed to sweat on it eh? 😂

Also during the opening ceremony, they used it as part of the concert. I also saw some articles about possible circus-like performances and such. Wouldn't that be cool? No wonder they're using it as an added amenity/incentive to why the properties around it are priced much higher now.

2 . It's shiny and copper toned!

Oh I love shiny things. Plus you don't see much copper these days, always more of gold or silver. Isn't it such a thing of beauty to look at an artsy coppery something so big and shiny? 😍😍😍


3 . It's unique and iconic.

Yep, way to go Thomas Heatherwick (and Heatherwick Studios)! Good for you and your design and architecture business! 👍👍👍 I'm sure a lot of people wish they were you right now just to get that amount of publicity. Wow.

Just thinking about designing it makes my head ache. Haha. Hey I'm no engineer or architect but kudos to them for coming up with such a thing.

Nevermind the naysayers, it's his amazing design on there and nobody's gonna take that away from him. When people say Hudson Yards, New York, they'll think of the Vessel for sure.

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What do you think about it? Have you been there? Let me know in the comments. :)

XOXO,
@artgirl

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Written by @artgirl for Steemit.
© Art x Stephanie Rue

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