Designer Thomas Heatherwick on NYC's 鈥淰essel鈥�
To design a monumental public sculpture in the heart of NYC, Thomas Heatherwick knew he had to push past what was expected. Follow the journey of 鈥淰essel鈥�.
How do you change the creative brief? You start with play. The designer Thomas Heatherwick was asked to create a monumental public work for the plaza of vast new development in the heart of Manhattan. The expected route would be to copy what鈥檚 worked before on other plazas in other cities 鈥� a statue, a fountain. But Heatherwick knew he had to push past what was expected. Spark & Fire follows the journey of 鈥淰essel鈥�, a massive piece of public art, from its roots in traditional Indian forms, to its sophisticated construction and multi-year assembly, to its reception by the public 鈥� a complicated story that is still unfolding. It鈥檚 a story of creative bravery, play, and persistence 鈥� at the drawing board and in the meeting room.
Thomas Heatherwick is the principal of Heatherwick Studio, based in central London. The studio is known equally for bravura projects like the "Seed Cathedral", "Vessel", and "Little Island over the Hudson River", and for thoughtful, human-scaled commercial and residential developments, like "London's Coal Drops Yard" and the delightful, award-winning "Maggie鈥檚 Leeds".
Follow along (with transcript and amazing photos) at https://sparkandfire.com/vessel
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