Design wunderkind Thomas Heatherwick and his eponymous Heatherwick Studio are nearing completion on their conceptual public centerpiece for the development at New York?s Hudson Yards, a multi-purpose living, working, dining, and shopping complex on Manhattan?s West Side. The studio was commissioned to create a focal point for this new ?heart of New York,? which has been described by its developers as a ?triumph of culture, commerce, and cuisine; a technological marvel that pairs style with sustainability; a convergence of parks and public space.”

The design draws on historical inspiration from Indian stepwells, ancient structures found in the subcontinent’s more arid regions that allowed descent down a series of terraces or staircases to a pool at the bottom. Heatherwick Studio used the stepwells as precedent because of their particular ability to create a kind of interior rhythm among its users, and also because they wished to create a structure that visitors could engage with, explore, touch, and feel like they were a part of. The constant ascending and descending on the stairs imbues the centerpiece, which has been given the name ?Vessel,? with a sense of movement and promotes moments of interaction and connection between visitors. Reaching 46 meters into the air at its finished height, Vessel is composed of 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, which in turn consist of an incredible 2,500 steps and 80 landings. This sprawling landscape of circulation is ar...