PHOTOS: Hudson Yards Will Soon Have a New Sculpture That Will Get You Climbing

CHELSEA, NY — The Hudson Yards will get a state of the art, 16-story sculpture next year that consists almost entirely of stairways. It's called "Vessel," and it could steal some thunder from its neighboring High Line.

The $150 million sculpture is an exercise in imagination and in asking yourself what climbing lots of stairs means to you. As The New York Times wrote, "some may see a jungle gym, others a honeycomb." It will be able to fit 1,000 people on its stairs at once.

The London-based architect of the piece, Thomas Heatherwick, said "it will act as a new free stage set for the city and form a new public gathering place for New Yorkers and visitors."

At its bottom, it's 50 feet in diameter, so it doesn't take up too much ground area of the park, according to the Heatherwick Studios website. But as it rises, it swells to a width of 150 feet.

Heatherwick said he wanted his work to be something more than just an ornament.

"In a city full of eye-catching structures, our first thought was that it shouldn't just be something to look at. Instead we wanted to make something that everybody could use, touch, relate to," he said in a statement Wednesday.

"Vessel" is being funded by Related Companies, which is developing the Hudson Yards with Oxford Properties Group.

"I'm struck by the notion that this could be a place – yes, for people to be active – but also a place that will cause us to reflect and think," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a Hudson Yards event Wednesday. "And there's something compelling and attractive about it. And certainly something that will make it a must-see and a must-walk for all New Yorkers."

Images courtesy of Heatherwick Studio