Although not the first event to take place in the new space (our earliest peek at the venue was for the “30 Days of Fashion” event and charity auction in late September), the gala officially opened the tower and included speeches from Hearst president and C.E.O. Victor F. Ganzi, vice chairman Frank Bennack, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Hearst’s executive director of event marketing, Lili Root, and senior manager of events marketing, Amy Rudnick lead the in-house team that worked with event design firm Van Wyck & Van Wyck to plan and produce the event, a project that took almost a year to prepare and execute.

Conscious of the history of the media conglomerate and the building, Bronson van Wyck looked to fill the sizable internal plaza with seating areas and decor elements that spoke to Foster’s modern design. Van Wyck chose materials that would echo those used in the tower and accented the lounges with purple throw pillows and flowers that matched the elevator interiors and softened the overall look.

To open the event, the planning team devised a nontraditional ribbon cutting. Six aerialists flipped, bounced, and twisted high above the crowd (some 100 feet in the air), concluding with two of the performers pulling two long pieces of ribbon from opposite sides of the building across the space. As the silk fabric fell, Stevie Wonder opened with “Superstition” from a stage hidden behind translucent curtains.

Hudson Yards, Danny Meyer’s newly formed off-premise operation, catered the event with a menu of passed canapés and buffet items, including chilled lobster consommé served in shot glasses, foie gras terrine with shallot marmalade and brioche croutons, and panko-crusted wild salmon.

—Anna Sekula

Posted 10.11.06

Photos: Marina Senra (aerial performance, candles), Nicole Villamora (all others)

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