Hudson Yards is the largest private development project in United States history. Really it’s
much more than just a project, and is in effect creating an entire new district or neighbourhood
on the west side of Manhattan Island in New York.
The 28 acre site is nestled between the Hudson River, Chelsea, Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen;
an area that’s fast becoming a hub for fashion, communications and the arts. Google and a
number of other tech companies have recently put down roots there.
The vast mixed-use Hudson Yards scheme will provide more than 5 million square meters
of commercial and residential space, an arts centre, a luxury hotel, a shopping centre,
restaurants, a 750-place public school and 14 acres of open space. It is split into two
distinct phases; the Eastern and Western Yards respectively.
The USD $20 billion project commenced in 2012 and has created more than 23,000 construction jobs.
It is scheduled to fully complete in 2024. By then, some 125,000 people a day will work
in, visit, or call Hudson Yards their home. The companies operating out of the office
towers will contribute close to USD $19 billion a year to New York City’s GDP.
Perhaps even more impressive than the project masterplan is the engineering feat that is
has taken to bring the Hudson Yards site itself into existence.
Demand for space on the densely-populated Manhattan Island led the development team
to consider an area currently occupied by an active railyard. By forming two platforms
over the yard, the clear space above it has been made available for development.
The railyard contains 30 active Long Island Rail Road tracks, three sub-surface rail tunnels
used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, a passageway and the new Gateway Tunnel completed in 2014.
Specific parts of this yard are able to be built upon and the team have used those spaces
to strategically construct foundations and supports for the structures above.
The Eastern Yard’s platform is supported by 300 caissons drilled between the railway
tracks, deep into New York’s bedrock. Scheduled to complete in 2016, the Eastern Yard platform
alone weighs 35,000 tonnes.
Far from simple slabs of concrete, the platforms must respond to the new spaces they create
both above and below them. Their surface will be planted with trees in many areas so soils
have been engineered to provide drainage and nutrients. There’s also a storm-water storage
tank and a system pumping coolant through piping in the slab, ensuring the trees are
not cooked by the heat from the train yard below. Down there, temperatures could climb
as high as 65 degrees Celsius, so industrial fans will be used to improve airflow and cool
the space down.
The engineering of the platforms was a joint achievement by Thornton Tomasetti, Langan
Engineering and Environmental Services and Arup.
With a solid, clear site created on its platforms, the Hudson Yards development soars skyward.
At its core is 30 Hudson Yards, designed by Bill Pedersen of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
As the second-tallest office building in New York, the 395 metre tower will surpass the
Empire State Building in providing the city’s highest outdoor observation deck. Time Warner,
Wells Fargo Securities and investment firm KKR are just some of its expected occupants.
The neighbouring 35 Hudson Yards tower, designed by David Childs and Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
will house exclusive apartments, a luxury hotel, a spa and further office space. At
304 meters, this will be the tallest residential tower on the site.
Across the way, 55 Hudson Yards anchors the north-west corner of the development. Once
operational in mid-2018, the 237 meter structure will provide further office space including
an open terrace on its tenth floor.
15 Hudson Yards is expected to be the first residential building to open. Designed by
Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Rockwell Group and Ismael Leyva Architects, it tapers to a height
of 277 meters.
10 Hudson Yards opened in May 2016. The 272 meter tower was again designed by Kohn Pedersen
Fox Associates and provides state-of-art-office space for the likes of L’Oréal. Its structure
bridges part of the public park space to maintain permeability.
The Shed is an innovative new space that will act as New York’s centre for artistic invention.
Due to open in 2019, it will commission and present the work of artists across various
disciplines.
The development also includes a hub of high-end retail units and leading restaurants. This
will be a key entry point offering access to both the subway and the city’s High Line.
Historically an elevated freight railway ran along the west side of Manhattan, though it
was abandoned in 1980. More recently it has been turned into a unique public park that
stretches one and a half miles from the Meatpacking district through Chelsea and up towards Hell’s Kitchen.
The park has rejuvenated and increased the desirability of these areas, driving a number
of developments along its route, perhaps most notably in the form of Hudson Yards. The final
portion stretches around the site and will be a key conduit between the new district
and the wider city.
Hudson Yards is an incredible engineering achievement that will clearly make a significant
cultural and economic contribution to New York City life.
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