The artwork's controlled optical inversion marries views of skyscape and landscape
WEST PODIUM LAND/SKY CASCADE
NEW YORK CITY, USA
2019
BackImages
CASCADE EFFECT
DUSK
ATRIUM
NORTH EDGE DETAIL
CANOPY
SITE DIAGRAM
SITE SEEN FROM THE WEST OVER THE RAIL YARD
CONCEPT
Description
The Hudson Yards project is a new 26-acre neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan built over a working rail yard. Studio James Carpenter / JCDA was commissioned by Related Urban to design the art wall for the primary retail building which also functions as a “backdrop” for a public square dense with activity. Similar in size to the Main Branch of the New York Public Library’s Bryant Park façade, the West Podium "Land/Sky Cascade" is 300’ feet long and 90’ high cable-net that incorporates 504 custom laminated curved glass panels. The artwork manifests a sublime presence among the multiplicity of towers and the sculpture occupying the center of the plaza.
As one approaches the wall, the landscape you are standing upon is captured by the upper cove surface which has a heightened reflectivity while the tilted lower inclined surface looks upwards, carrying the image of the sky and clouds. The wall amplifies a cinematic cascading image of land and sky, sparking an orchestration of spatial awareness.
Client: Related Companies
Architect: KPF