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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2016)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 PARTING SHOT FROM DANNY MILLER A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers A beachgoer takes a photo of kites flying in September in Seaside. ODDITY Climb aboard Plans for massive new sculpture for public plaza unveiled By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press N EW YORK — The developer behind a cluster of skyscrapers rising near the Hudson River raised eyebrows when he boasted the project would be anchored by a monumental sculpture that would be the city’s Eiffel Tower. After months of secrecy and speculation, plans for the work of public art were unveiled Wednesday. And while the price tag of the sculpture by British designer Thomas Heather- wick was a big-league $150 million, only time will tell whether New Yorkers embrace the 150-foot-tall work of art, dubbed “Vessel.” The concrete and steel structure, which looks like an inverted honeycomb, will stand in a 5-acre public plaza on Manhattan’s west side. People will be able to climb it. The design has a latticework of 154 interconnected lights of stairs and 80 platforms and stands 50 feet across at the base and 150 feet wide at the top. Developer Stephen Ross, of The Related Cos., wasn’t backing off of his statements the sculpture could join the pantheon of great urban landmarks, Eiffel Tower included. “That was the whole idea of what I had in my mind,” he said. “What would create some- thing that would be truly remarkable, that would be unique?” Related-Oxford This artist rendering provided by Related-Oxford shows the design for the proposed public square and gardens at Hudson Yards featuring the “Vessel.” vated park, was met with enthusiasm from pub- lic art advocates. “Over the course of the last decade, monu- mental public art installations have become part of New York City’s celebrated cultural land- scape,” said Susan Freedman, president of the Public Art Fund, which puts on art exhibitions all over the city. She said she’s sure Heatherwick’s piece “will become an instant landmark, capturing the imag- ination of people of all ages and backgrounds.” Mixed reaction See others Heatherwick, whose other projects include the cauldron for the 2012 Olympics in Lon- don, said the sculpture “is the ultimate seeing- each-other device,” because people climbing it would be able to see others on other platforms and those below. “We’re thrilled and excited and amazed that the project’s really happening,” he said. “It’s a very different kind of commission than we’ve ever worked on before.” The public square where “Vessel” will stand AP Photo/Mark Lennihan Stephen Ross, left, chairman of Related Companies, talks with Thomas Heatherwick, the designer of the “Vessel” sculpture, at Hudson Yards Wednesday in New York. is planned as an outdoor venue for performances and art exhibits, with landscaping that includes 28,000 plants and trees. It’s expected to be open to the public in 2018. Heatherwick said construction of the compo- nents has begun in Italy. The project, located near the northern termi- nus of another new landmark, the High Line ele- People sitting and walking along the High Line on Wednesday were mixed. Victoria Kepler, who works in a build- ing near where the sculpture would go, wasn’t bowled over. “I’m probably not going to go out in a court- yard to see steps,” she said. But Jimmi Blake, an associate planner for a fashion company, was much more impressed, saying she thinks it’s “gorgeous.” “I love the shape of it,” she said. “I love the fact that people can walk up and down.” W hile other n ew spa pers give you less, The D a ily Astoria n GIVES YOU O u r n ew M ORE C APITAL B UREAU From left: M a teu sz Perk ow sk i, Pa ris Achen covers the sta te for you
