All photographs by John Hill/World-Architects
After being closed since 2021, following four suicides in just two years. Related Companies, the developer of Hudson Yards, reopened Heatherwick Studio's The Vessel with safety netting that allows visitors to access portions of the climbable sculpture's 150 stairs and 80 landings.
Details of the floor-to-ceiling steel mesh being installed across the south side of the 150-foot-tall sculpture were revealed in April of this year. The Vessel opened to the public on March 15, 2019, a date that also marked the official opening of the first phase of Hudson Yards, the mixed-use development built by Related Companies on a platform above a rail yard on Manhattan's West Side. Sitting in a park space surrounded by office and residential towers, a mall, and a cultural venue, The Vessel was the most popular part of Hudson Yards after the development's opening, but it was also tragically the site of four suicides: in February 2020, December 2020, January 2021, and July 2021. In all but the last instance, Related Companies instituted safety measures, such as extra security, a “buddy” system requiring groups, and paid admission; the July 2021 suicide led to the sculpture's closure and renewed called for physical safety measures.
The physical barrier, which was reportedly designed by Heatherwick Studio, is made up of a steel safety mesh attached to curved members that extend from the outside of the glass guardrail to the ceiling of the level above. The mesh is designed to withstand any damage, be it from the elements or people trying to cut it, per Related. World-Architects visited a couple days after The Vessel reopened on October 21, snapping some photos — they are below, accompanied by captions with some additional information on the safety measures.
Approaching from the south, the double-curved structures holding the mesh are clearly visible.
The safety mesh wraps the north side at levels 3 and 4, working with additional guardrails to keep visitors from climbing the stairs and landings on that side.
This photo looking west shows how the safety mesh stops and restricts people's movement to the south side on the upper levels.
The feeling of being within mesh netting on both sides of the landings is slightly strange, akin to being cocooned within the structure or trapped in a spider web.
These photos show how the mesh's framing attaches to the existing guardrails, and how the new guardrails that limit access to the north side connect to the new frames and navigate the existing guardrails.
A connection detail of the double-curved frame extending from the structure.
