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After three years and $ 200 million, Thomas Heatherwick's huge interactive public art piece, entitled Vessel, was inaugurated this weekend at Hudson Yards. And although we already know what it's like to fly a drone in the middle of this hive / pineapple / shawarma / stairway leading to nowhere, Sunday was the first opportunity for me to cross it, joining thousands of people. others presented for the opening weekend. Here are some thoughts:
(Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
- The dizzying excitement I felt during my one-hour trip to the ship was much better than I had hoped. The views change constantly and dramatically, and they are all cold and dramatic in different ways, whether high or low. Note: This could change once construction of Western Yards begins, blocking the vast panoramas of the Hudson River.
- The capacity on Vessel is limited to 700 – and, as some incredibly discreet signs say, 31 is the limit on each of the best platforms – but it never feels congested. You can start your climb in one of the four stairwells, then turn right or left dozens of times, so everyone wakes up. In addition, people continue to move because there is always another point of view to be acquired, and most of the stairs and landings along the diverted course are wide enough to avoid throttling bottlenecks.
- Boarding the ship is free, and you're encouraged to book a timed ticket online (it's currently out for the next two weeks, but every morning at 8 am a number of slots are made available to you the same day, as well as tickets for each newly opened day two weeks later). You can also go to the site, wait on the line and enter the next slot available … which looks like a nightmare, but even during the peak of Sunday afternoon, around 14:30, was fine less than one hour. At the moment, the operation is effective and a dozen people "Vessel Information" are present to help you navigate the process.
- The ship is big. At the highest levels, you are 150 feet tall, about fifteen floors in the air, and the clear protective walls are only mounted on my chest. Everything is very outside too, which is excellent, but the western platforms were particularly windy yesterday. If you are afraid of heights – or if you easily encounter the highland phenomenon, which makes you feel like you can jump into the abyss, even if you do not want it – your feet can sweat.
- If you do not want or can not climb fifteen floors (there are actually 2,500 steps in total in the boat, or about a kilometer walk if you're doing the whole route), there is an elevator that you can take up to the top.
- In the very center of the lower floor is a circle of cement surrounded by blue lights, for no apparent reason. The thing to do here, apparently, is to put your phone in the middle, set the stopwatch and let your team bend down to get that nice selfie shot.
- The public square and the gardens surrounding Vessel are perhaps an engineering marvel, but, like the expansive shopping center in which it is located, there is not really any reason to go there. where to sit here. Some low walls to the north, framing the flowerbeds, work very well as a restaurant, and the stairs that face the river will probably be a popular pole in the spring. There are also benches near the entrance of train 7 at 34th Street, and south when you head to the High Line, but it's almost as if Related did not want people to hang around in their park.
The vessel is located in Hudson Shipyards, between 10th and 11th Avenues and 34th and 30th Streets. The good news: what has been an inaccessible construction site for years is now completely open and can be approached from all four sides.
Here is our guide to the massive new development and a guide to what you will find to eat there.
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