Archinect - Features

Hudson Yards’ Vessel Is a Sinking Ship; When Developers Fail To Listen, Tragedy Casts a Long Shadow

2021-08-01T08:10:00-04:00

It's been called many names and has been an easy target for endless jokes and memes. Yet beyond its position as both spectacle and superfluous structure, the infamous Vessel of Hudson Yards may be facing closure for good.

It's disheartening to know that this is another Vessel-related loss that our editorial team has covered. On May 27, Archinect reported the reopening after its closure in January 2021 due to three suicides at the site, happening all within 15 months. In its attempts to prevent future losses, the reopening's intended focus on suicide prevention was accompanied by a new set of safety measures. However, despite the added staffing, security, buddy system for entry, and signage providing reminders and resources regarding mental health, it appears those new protocols were not enough.

Wasted Space: Comparing Horton Plaza and The Vessel

2019-07-16T13:25:00-04:00

One is brand new, the other, at the end of its life. One is a place for shopping, the other a place for selling oneself. One, a facsimile of the city, the other, a rejection of it.

However unalike they might seem, Jon Jerde’s soon-to-be-demolished Horton Plaza in San Diego and Thomas Heatherwick’s recently-completed The Vessel in New York City have much in common.

Let us count the ways.

Slight of hand: Konishi Gaffney meld beautiful interventions with Edinburgh's history

2016-04-28T05:01:00-04:00

I’m in Leith, a short distance from Edinburgh city centre, to interview Kieran Gaffney, one-half of the Konishi Gaffney work partnership with his wife, Makiko Konishi. Konishi and Gaffney met whilst working for Thomas Heatherwick in London. Gaffney was Heatherwick’s first employee, working as an architect on early projects from 1998 until 2004.