Unlike most of New York City’s standout architecture, this sculptural, almost alien-looking structure set to rise above the new Hudson Yards development will be open for the public to explore. Architect Thomas Heatherwick envisions this centerpiece as a way to take all of the visitors to the square and “sort of sprinkle them into the air,” encouraging them to interact with each other and with their surroundings in a new way.

Influenced by images of Indian stepwells, which use hundreds of flights of stairs to descend beneath ground level, this observation deck uses flights of stairs almost like building blocks to reach into the sky.

The ‘Vessel’ design is made up of 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, with nearly 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings, and if you want to walk the whole thing, you’ll travel an entire mile while remaining in the air above Hudson Yards. It’s 50 feet in diameter at the feet, blooming into 150 feet at the top, and gleams appealingly in polished copper.

The square at Hudson Yards is a collaboration between Heatherwick Studio and landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz, set to feature 5 acres of trees, perennial gardens, pathways, seating and a 200-foot-long fountain mimicking a flowing river.

The square will be surrounded by a whopping 16 brand new skyscrapers containing nearly 13 millions square feet of office, residential and retail space. The largest development in New York City since Rockefeller center was built in 1939, it’s currently under construction, and estimated to be fully completed by 2023.

“We put ourselves under this vast pressure because we felt, intuitively, that it should be something that you haven’t experience already before,” says Heatherwick. “It has no commercial job to do. It’s not based on electronics. It’s not based on advertising. it’s extremely interactive but it’s properly using your physicality. There’s something that is timeless about humans and our physicality. The project, in a way, is a big invitation. It’s just there to hopefully mean things to different people, to not tell you how you’re supposed to think. It’s like a platform for life.”

Test your heights-hardiness at a glass-floored cocktail bar cantilevered hundreds of feet above the floor of Mexico’s Copper Canyon at this stunning cliffside bar designed by Tall Arquitectos. The square-shaped, minimalist concrete building juts out from the hillside high above the trees, its overhang so dramatic it’s bound to give the squeamish a little bit of a stomach flutter just looking at the photos. But if you’re brave enough to venture out to its edges, you’ll be rewarded with views of the stunning Basaseachic Falls – not to mention a drink to calm your nerves.

Two levels offer sunny or shaded views of the surrounding natural landscape, with a glass floor allowing guests to look straight down. There’s lounge space on the upper floor observation deck and cafe tables on the perimeter of the lower level so you can soak in the sights of pines, oaks, dusty plateaus and the streaks of orange-red on the canyon walls that give the area in the northwestern state of Chihuahua its name.

The design is reminiscent of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a controversial project that extends a loop-shaped overlook 66 feet from the canyon’s edge, with a two-inch-thick glass floor. That project received some criticism for potential ecological impact and insensitivity to the sacred traditions of local Native tribes. As cool as it looks, it’s unlikely that the Copper Canyon design will ever make it past this proposal.

Another knee-shaker of a cliff-clinging building positions a modern modular home right off a cliff wall, with its roof at the same level as the plateau. Envisioned for the Australian coast, Cliff House by Modscape Concept is another pie-in-the-sky concept that’ll never see the light of day, but it’s spectacular to look at nonetheless.

From Canal Street in New Orleans to a nature preserve in Latvia, these diverse observation towers look out over everything from bird sanctuaries to Formula One race tracks. With designs that stand out for both their brilliance and quirks, these 12 viewing decks in the sky provide unparalleled views of both urban and rural settings.

Phoenix Observation Tower by BIG Architects

Arizona’s capital city will soon get a 70,000-square-foot addition to its skyline, a spiraling walkway stretching toward the clouds. Three glass elevators lead to the helical apex, with retail, exhibition and recreation spaces at the base. BIG Architects envision it as a pin on the map, which “becomes a point of reference and a mechanism to set the landscape in motion through the movement of the spectator.”

Floating Observation Deck for Grand Central Terminal by SOM

A floating ring slides up and down two supporting towers right over New York City’s Grand Central Terminal in this design by SOM. The moving deck preserves the original 100-year-old station while rethinking the available space around the building, turning it into a landmark with 360-degree views of the city.

Leaning Tower of Belgium by Ateliereen Architecten

There’s only one angle from which Ateliereen Architecten’s observation tower in Belgium looks like it’s standing up straight. Everywhere else, the 30-meter steel and timber tower draped with ribbons of rope appears to be leaning. The ropes reference the nearby sand dunes in the nature preserve in which the tower is set.

Observation Tower in Jurmala by Arhis Architects

Observation decks jut out from this lookout tower in Jurmala, Latvia like balconies from a skyscraper, providing a variety of vantage points from which to enjoy Dzintaru Park. Consisting of an open-air cage, the structure reaches to 124.6 feet at its pinnacle.

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