First construction images have been released for Thomas Heatherwick's hotly-anticipated sculptural landmark - called "Vessel" - at Hudson Yards, New York. The first shots show that the red-coloured giant structure has started to take shape and five circulation floors of the structure are almost complete. 

Starting construction in April this year, the massive steelwork staircase will be a public centrepiece for Hudson Yards, a new 11-hectare (110,000-square-metre) development on Manhattan's upper West Side that sits above a huge rail yard. 

80 individual platforms are being prefabricated by Cimolai S.p.A. in their Monfalcone, an Italian manufacturer and construction company for steel structures, then shipped to New York where they will be assembled on site.

Thomas Heatherwick's firm Heatherwick Studio created a massive cascaded public staircase that visitors directly could use, touch and create a sense of "belonging" to its bold emblematic structure. Heatherwick's designed presents itself as a playful urban landmark that visitors could climb, spend time and explore different feelings in relation to its complexity and materiality.

Inspired by the ancient stepwells of India, the studio sought to evoke the powerful effect of their repeating steps, flights and landings that reach down to earth. The structure is composed of 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, 2,500 steps, and 80 individual platforms are arranged around its vertical perimeter. 

"The effect of climbing up and down Vessel's staircases creates a personal rhythm in each visitor," said Heatherwick Studio. 

The project, derived from Stephen Ross' idea - the Chairman of Related Companies, one of developers of the project, is expected to cost $200 million in total. The 46-metre tall structure is made of polished copper-coloured undersides, contrasting with the raw painted steel surfaces of the complex architectural framework. Each component of the structure weighs close to 100,000 pounds. 

Enlivening the structure with reflections of the surrounding city, this giant form will be a living urban intervention at the heart of this large new district. "Vessel represents the intention for Hudson Yards to create a meaningful public legacy for New York," added the studio. 

Encompassing a total of 2,210-square-metre area, the massive structure will hold 1,000 visitors at a time, as Stephen Ross described in one of his statement. Vessel is scheduled to be completed at the end of this year and it is expected to open to the public in the Fall of 2018 along with the whole Public Square and Gardens. 

Heatherwick Studio unveiled first conceptual images for Vessel in September 2016. The studio is closely working with AKT, Cimolai, Landscape architecture studio Nelson Byrd Woltz, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and engineering company Thornton Tomasetti on this project. Hudson Yards is being developed by Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group.

Heatherwick Studio is closely working on a new upgrade on Shanghai's waterfront - a new mixed-use development the Bund Finance Centre will be developed in collaboration with Foster + Partners. 

More recently, the studio was commissioned to transform London’s Olympia into a world-class venue, housing a new hotel, theatre and entertainment venues, as well as museums, co-working spaces and innovative new restaurants.

All images © Geoff Butler

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