Hudson Yards Benches

For this project with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and KPF, we provided the designers with engineering and fabrication services for a series of urban benches for Manhattan’s highly anticipated new development, Hudson Yards.

The wooden benches provide 75 linear feet of seating and are located at the end of the Highline extension between The Shed and 10 Hudson Yard.

The project began by creating a parametric 3D model to determine seat thickness, spacing and the overall form of the benches. The digital model was translated directly into a full-scale mockup to test drainage, maintenance, material strength and finish. We leveraged our 5-axis CNC router to fabricate the 1 1/2 inch-thick ipe slats and then finished them with a high-grade natural oil seal, which protects the slats from drastic changes in moisture and allows the natural beauty of the wood to come through.

The benches come together using steel standoffs, creating the perfect half inch gap between each slat. Made of glass-bead-blasted 316 stainless steel alloy, the structural frame is designed to resist corrosion over time. The end result is an elegant series of undulating benches that will provide plaza seating at Hudson Yards for years to come.

Client

Related Companies

Architects

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Contractor

AECOM Tishman

Location

New York, NY

Completion

2017

Photography

SITU