Vessel, The Centerpiece Of Hudson Yards' Public Square And Gardens, Begins To Rise On Manhattan's West Side

NEW YORK, NY – April 18, 2017 – Vessel, the centerpiece of the Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards, today began to rise on Manhattan’s West Side, marking the start of construction of this new urban landmark. Related Chairman Stephen M. Ross, project executives and the construction team were on hand to witness the first pieces of Vessel being placed. As Vessel is built in the upcoming months, the public can view its progress from the High Line and from Hudson Park and Boulevard at West 34th Street, and follow the construction using the hashtag #vesselrising.

Designed by Heatherwick Studio, founded by renowned designer Thomas Heatherwick, Vessel is comprised of 154 intricately-interconnecting flights of stairs, 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings. Vessel will rise from a base that is 50 feet in diameter and will widen to 150 feet at the top, offering the public a one-mile vertical climbing experience and some of the most unique views of the West Side.

Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick Studio, said, “This is a special moment as Vessel begins being assembled at Hudson Yards. As one of the most complex and ambitious pieces of steelwork ever made, the next months will provide a one-off opportunity to see a future extraordinary structure emerge for New York. There are so many buildings and projects I wish I saw being made. So, for those who are interested, I hope it will turn out to have been worth heading up onto the High Line to catch a glimpse of the complex geometry being pieced together like an incredible jigsaw puzzle.”

Stephen M. Ross, Chairman of Related Companies, said, “We are thrilled to commence construction on Vessel, the centerpiece and heart of the Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards. An extraordinary amount of work by artisans and craftsmen has gone into reaching this day and we are excited to invite New Yorkers and visitors alike to watch its rise over the upcoming months. The interactive, engaging, innovative and beautiful structure embodies our city’s energy, activity and movement, and we look forward to the day when all can experience and experiment with it.”

Vessel is being fabricated by Cimolai S.p.A. in their Monfalcone, Italy facility. The first 10 of 75 pieces of the 150-foot-tall steel structure arrived by ship after travelling for 15 days at sea. After a brief stay at the Port of Newark, the pieces took a five-hour barge trip across the Hudson River to make their way to Hudson Yards. The remaining pieces will be arriving on-site and put into place over the coming months.

Vessel is expected to top out by the end of this year and is expected to formally open to the public along with the entire Public Square and Gardens in the Fall of 2018. Additional elements of the Public Square and Gardens will also begin to take shape in the Fall of 2017, including the planting of the first 40 trees that will form a Bosque in the southern section of the public space. The Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards will eventually house more than 28,000 plants, 200 mature trees, woodland plants, perennial gardens and a 200-foot-long fountain that will mirror the flow of a river.

The Public Square and Gardens at Hudson Yards, designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects in collaboration with Heatherwick Studio, will feature more than five acres of public plazas, gardens and groves that seamlessly connect to the High Line and the new Hudson Park & Boulevard. When complete, this continuous chain of open spaces on the West Side will run from Gansevoort Street to Times Square, making it the largest network of public spaces developed in Manhattan since Central Park. And when the full Hudson Yards development is completed in 2025, this new public space will also connect to the final phase of Hudson River Park, extending the bike paths from the George Washington Bridge at the north to the Battery at the south.

Hudson Yards is a new neighborhood on Manhattan’s West Side being developed by Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group. Hudson Yards will be home to more than 100 shops and restaurants – including New York City’s first Neiman Marcus – dozens of the world’s corporate business leaders, state-of-art modern residences, a unique cultural space, 14-acres of public open space, a new 750-seat public school and a 200-room Equinox® branded luxury hotel – all offering unparalleled amenities for residents, employees and guests.

###

ABOUT RELATED COMPANIES:

Founded more than 40 years ago, Related Companies is a fully-integrated, highly diversified industry leader with experience in virtually every aspect of development, acquisitions, management, finance, fund management, marketing and sales. The company has $50 billion of real estate assets owned or under development including best-in-class mixed-use, residential, and retail, office, trade show and affordable properties in premier high-barrier-to-entry markets. Headquartered in New York City, Related has offices and major developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, South Florida, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi, London and Shanghai, and is well-known for having developed the 2.8 million square foot Time Warner Center in New York City and the 72-acre CityPlace in West Palm Beach as well as being a leader in green building. For more information, please visit www.related.com

ABOUT OXFORD PROPERTIES GROUP:

Oxford Properties Group is a global platform for real estate investment, development and management, with approximately 2,000 employees and over $40 billion of real estate assets that it manages for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners. Established in 1960, Oxford has regional offices in Toronto, London and New York, and the company's portfolio includes approximately 56 million square feet of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hotel properties. Oxford is the real estate arm of OMERS. For more information, please visit www.oxfordproperties.com

ABOUT HEATHERWICK STUDIO:

British designer Thomas Heatherwick founded Heatherwick Studio in 1994 to bring craft, design, architecture and urban planning together in a single workspace. Today a team of 200, including architects, designers and makers, work from a combined studio and workshop in King’s Cross, London. At the heart of the studio’s work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials and craftsmanship. This is achieved through a working methodology of collaborative rational inquiry, undertaken in a spirit of curiosity and experimentation. The studio’s work includes a number of nationally significant projects including the UK Pavilion for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the Cauldron for the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the New Bus for London. In the United States, the studio is currently involved in the renovation of Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall (in collaboration with Diamond Schmitt Architects) and the new headquarters for Google in Mountain View, California (in collaboration with BIG).

###

CONTACTS:

Related Companies:

Joanna Rose
212-801-3902
[email protected]
[email protected]

Jessica Scaperotti
212.801.3528
[email protected]
[email protected]