London has Big Ben, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, while Sydney has the Sydney Opera House. All iconic landmarks that define a city. For New York City, it is dozens of landmarks that define us, mostly being the Empire State Building, but besides the iconic building, several landmarks are what makes our city what it is today. With so many landmarks, it seems almost difficult to imagine yet another landmark in New York City. Well, imagine another one because a new attraction is coming to the Big Apple.

With the success of the Oculus in New York City becoming an attraction, it does not seem impossible to imagine more architectural giants coming to the city. Now a giant staircase is coming, with a set estimate of costing $150 million. It will be called the ‘Vessel’, and feature 15 stories that will go up to ‘nowhere’. It is said to look like a staircase, but a more modern one.

The Vessel was unveiled on Wednesday, with a British architect named Thomas Heatherwick behind the idea of having a staircase in Manhattan. The staircase will be 150 feet up high, and will be a combination of interconnecting stairs that visitors will be able to climb up on and get a great view of the city.

This will be one unique attraction, as there will be 2,500 steps, all made of bronze steel and concrete from Italy, 80 landings, and 150 staircases in total. Heatherwick is in hopes that his creation will help people be more aware and visible.

The stairs will resemble a beehive, which will have gardens, trees, and a fountain that will mirror the Hudson River. It will be a very unique attraction for New Yorker’s to enjoy, and will symbolize the future of New York City architect and design.

Heartwick was the creator of the Olympic cauldron for the 2012 games in London, and also London’s red routemaster bus in 2010. He has also designed internationally as he was the designer for the Seed cathedral in Shanghai China.

The Vessel is expected to open in 2018 to the public at Hudson Yard.

Featured Image Via Wikimedia