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Whirld

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whirld was a 560-foot steel-frame structure on the East River in Manhattan, New York. Originally intended as a tourist attraction, the Whirld closed commercial operations shortly after its opening in 2025. The abandoned structure became a roosting site for the native birds of New York Harbor before it collapsed in 2026. In 2030, Mayor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez designated the site as a wildlife sanctuary. Shortly thereafter, the United Nations launched a climate initiative and constructed the Station for Urban Symbiosis immediately north of the site (adjacent to their headquarters) to study urban ecology and nonhuman responses to climate change. It is the only wildlife sanctuary on the island of Manhattan.

History

Conception and Construction

Planned as a joint venture between the Soloviev Group and the International Freedom of Infotainment Foundation (IFIF), a non-profit with the express purpose of creating high-tech and spectacular spaces for 21st-century media, Whirld was a 50-storey observation wheel skyscraper. The structure combined the mechanics of a Ferris Wheel and a Paternoster elevator. Visitors would ride the carriages to various levels, or 'pavilions' in IFIF's nomenclature, over the course of a 90-minute rotation. Carriages were hop-on, hop-off with visitors able to explore the pavilions at leisure. As the carriages were suspended inside a space frame, views to New York were only visible from pavilions.

Shortly after construction began in 2023, Soloviev backed out of the project citing concerns over its costs and safety. Internal memos made public during later litigation between IFIF and Soloviev revealed that Stefan Soloviev, chairman of the group, wanted "to shift focus toward agricultural and logistic operations, less about this frankly idiotic architecture." Construction continued under IFIF, which had received donations amounting to $400 million expressly for the construction of Whirld, which courts ruled could not be redirected to other projects. Michael Levy, president of IFIF, stated in an interview that "throughout history people have erected wondrous monuments to push the bounds of human imagination, and to symbolize the greatness of peoples and their cultures for generations to come. Whirld can be our temple for the twenty-first century. It must be built!" IFIF attempted to partner with numerous other entertainment and cultural conglomerates, including The Walt Disney Company, Mohegan Sun, and the United Nations, whose headquarters is directly north of the Whirld. A new partner failed to materialize, and Whirld underwent serious value engineering during construction in order to be completed within IFIF’s budget.

Reception and Aftermath

The building opened to the public on November 2, 2025. It received mixed reviews by architectural critics as both a “stupendous feat of imagination and structure” and “a monument to neoliberal hubris.” Within two weeks, it was permanently closed for undisclosed reasons. IFIF filed for bankruptcy later that year, and the site was repossessed by the city during the proceedings. The ring structure collapsed on 17 July, 2026 when Hurricane Frodo hit the city. In its collapse, Whirld destroyed a portion of FDR Drive and the East River Esplanade, caving an infilled portion of the island into the East River. Many New Yorkers noted the collapsed Whirld's similarity in form to the collapsed metal arch on U Thant Island. The City cleared away the remnants of the structure in August 2026, and announced plans to rebuild FDR and the Esplanade while maintaining the originial coastline of the island.

Sanctuary Status

Prior to the Whirld's collapse, the New York City Audubon Society began a campaign to designate the structure as a wildlife sanctuary after a number of birds, including multiple endangered species such as the Peregrine Falcon, Roseate Tern, and Piping Plover, had been spotted roosting in the space-frame over multiple migratory seasons. Further reports indicated a population of endangered Northern Long-eared Bats had settled in structure as well. After its collapse, the United Nations and City of New York announced a joint venture to preserve the ecological use of the site and to study it for the “betterment of our understanding as to how our actions and structures have consequences on other planetary inhabitants. In the ongoing ecological crisis, giving such an important site on our skyline back to non-human uses will set an example for a possible future of coexistence.”

Construction of a research facility on the north end of the site began in winter 2031, and the site was reworked as an ecological garden and public park. The structure, called the Station for Urban Symbiosis, envelops the existing Queens–Midtown Tunnel ventilation tower and sits on Robert Moses Playground, located between the site of Whirld and the UN Headquarters. A ceremony was held to open the site and station to the public on April 22, 2032 in commemoration of Earth Day. Mayor Ocasio-Cortez designated the park a wildlife sanctuary, the first and only on Manhattan Island, and announced a plan to rewild the Harbor from the Brother Islands to Jamaica Bay.