Located west of Manhattan, in the Hudson Yards district, a new monument-sculpture was unveiled by New York City. The concept: a huge lattice of steel staircases that will enable you to observe Manhattan from different angles.

The island of Manhattan in New York will host a new architectural marvel. It is an immense lattice of stairs rising towards the sky, intersecting on platforms. The model was unveiled and the concept is staggering. Imagined by the British designer Thomas Heatherwick, the “Vessel” (the ship) will be 15 storeys high and will have 154 flights of connected stairs, weighing about 600 tons.

“The Vessel will be to New York what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris,” says Stephen Ross, the billionaire who partially funds the development of the Hudson Yards district. There are many similarities with the Eiffel Tower since the structure, currently being designed piece by piece in Italy, will also consist of painted steel frames with the lower surfaces covered with a copper-coloured coating. But, since this is Manhattan, the promoters have an even grander vision. The future monument-sculpture will have about 2500 steps, according to the New York Times. For comparison, you have to climb 1665 steps to reach the top floor of the Eiffel Tower.

A revitalized district

The construction of this tower is part of a modernization project of the Hudson Yards district on the Hudson River in Manhattan, until recently consisting of huge depots for Penn Station. They will gradually be completely covered to accommodate residential buildings, green spaces as well as glass towers like 10 Hudson Yards with a height of 265 metres. Scheduled for autumn 2018, the Vessel will be accessible to visitors free of charge. Its cost is $ 150 million, according to initial estimates.

Tags: Eiffel Tower, Manhattan, staircase, Thomas Heatherwick, Vessel