Italy Walk: Hudson Yards and the High Line

Craft & Art

from the Vessel and Shed

at Hudson Yards to the High Line and Whitney Museum

with Maria Teresa Cometto and Glauco Maggi

Fourth appointment for the Italy Walk series.

Two meeting points:

3:45 PM: Italian Cultural Institute of New York (686 Park Avenue)

or

4:30 PM:  35th Street exit of the Hudson Yards Subway Station

We will gather at 3:45 PM at the Italian Cultural Institute (686 Park Avenue) or at 4:30 PM at the 35th Street exit of the Hudson Yards Subway Station. Then we will take a short walk to Bella Abzug Park. Inside the park’s fountain, we will view the terracotta sculptureThe Last Five Fish in the Sea, hand-built by artist Giangaetano Patanè. This unique exhibition is presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York in collaboration with the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Alliance.

From there, we will discuss the architectural marvels of Hudson Yards and their incredible Italian craftsmanship.

The Vessel: Fabricated in Italy by Cimolai, a renowned company specializing in massive steel structures for bridges, dams, and large-scale port facilities.

The Shed: Built by Sciame Construction, founded by Italian-American Frank Sciame Jr. The building’s massive movable kinetic “wheels” were also custom-manufactured in Italy by Cimolai.

5:00 PM: Metting with our Special Guest, the artistic curator on the High Line

We will head over to the High Line Spur (30th Street & 10th Avenue) to meet Cecilia Alemani, the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art. We will gather beneath The Light That Shines Through the Universe, a monumental 27-foot sandstone Buddha sculpture by artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen. Cecilia Alemani will serve as our special guide, guiding us through the incredible public art installations along the park and sharing her insider curatorial perspective.

Sunset: The Whitney Museum & Gansevoort Beach

Our walk concludes at the southern end of the High Line, home to the Whitney Museum of American Art, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano in collaboration with Cooper Robertson. We’ll learn about the high-end Italian design and engineering firms that helped execute his vision.

Finally, for those looking to unwind after the tour, we will finish our evening by relaxing on the lounge chairs of the nearby Gansevoort Beach to catch the sunset over the Hudson River.

Let’s learn more

Vessel was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio as the centerpiece of the Hudson Yards Public Square and Gardens, developed by Related Companies with Oxford Properties. “Vessel is one of the most complex pieces of steelwork ever made… assembled ahead of schedule and with astonishing geometric accuracy.” — Thomas Heatherwick, at Vessel’s topping-out, December 2017. The structure’s massive, intricate steel segments were fabricated by Cimolai S.p.A., a world-renowned specialist steel fabricator at its shipyard in Monfalcone and Porcia, Italy (near Venice). Because the developers wanted the design to be a surprise, Cimolai constructed a 20-foot fence around their Italian steelworks yard so that no passing ships or drone photography could leak the beehive-like architecture to the press before its official reveal. The structural framework was divided into 75 massive prefabricated steel segments. They were loaded onto ships in Italy and spent 15 days at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Upon reaching the U.S., the segments briefly stopped at Port Newark. Because the pieces were too wide to travel through Manhattan streets via trucks, they were loaded onto barges and taken on a five-hour trip up the Hudson River right to the edge of the construction site. Once all the Italian-made pieces arrived on-site, it took teams another eight months to assemble the 154 flights of stairs like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle.