Commissioned by Google and designed by Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY, The Orb is a monumental pavilion in Mountain View, California. This 10-meter-tall, 26-meter-wide, ultra-thin aluminium structure serves as the centrepiece of the public plaza at Google's Charleston East Campus. Its undulating, surreal form embodies the spirit of innovation and creativity central to the company’s work culture.
The Orb lies somewhere between a pavilion and an art installation. “For architects, we’re too much of an artist; for artists, too much of an architect,” says Marc Fornes. What is essential for his studio is that the object is both functional and capable of provoking emotion and sparking naive curiosity. While The Orb performs as a place for encounters and contemplation, its organic form provides visitors with a dreamlike experience.
Edged yet edgeless, surfaces curve, branch, split, rejoin, and split again. This extreme curvature̶achieved through cutting-edge computational design̶enables the surfaces to be entirely self supporting despite being just 3mm thick. Though apparently seamless, The Orb is crafted from 6,441 individual aluminium components, connected by over 217,000 rivets̶making it not just visually striking but sophisticatedly engineered.
Even before anyone steps inside, the fluid surfaces of the pavilion interact with light, casting irregular shadows that seem to be constantly in flux. Made of perforated aluminium, these surfaces allow daylight to filter through them, creating a dappled effect on the ground evocative of a starred sky. By night, the entire volume transforms into a glowing sculpture, establishing a dynamic interplay of light and shadow that evolves over time.
The Orb is an experiential landmark contributing to the campus’ visual identity. It is an immersive, futuristic space for employees and visitors to gather, explore, and engage. And while the tools used by Marc Fornes/THEVERYMANY to create The Orb are complex, their goal is simple: to craft an experience that evokes joy̶the joy wandering, the joy of marvelling.
MARC FORNES/THEVERYMANY
‘Engineering Wonder’
Marc Fornes is an architect-artist whose otherworldly structures transport visitors to fantastical realms. Blurring the line between art and architecture, his projects are immersive and perform both as functional spaces and art installations. Fornes is known for his pioneering exploration of form, structure, and materiality̶an interplay he has spent over a decade exploring, often working with materials thinner than a credit card.
Fornes’s works engage viewers on multiple levels. Up close, their continuous, flowing surfaces create unexpected spaces that evoke a sense of wonder and escapism, awakening childlike curiosity. Some may see coral formations, others blooming flowers, while some may find shadows reminiscent of natural swarms. From a distance, these iconic organic forms stand as urban sculptures, enriching the communities they inhabit.
Fornes’s approach to architecture emerged from his deep engagement with computation and digital design. An early fascination with algorithms allowed him to shape his innovative vision through coding̶writing instructions on a computer to generate his creations. But what set Fornes apart was his relentless obsession with making these intricate geometries buildable through optimised digital fabrication. Crafted from lightweight materials, his impossibly thin structures are assembled on-site of pieces small enough to be carried by hand̶like a colossal 3D puzzle
Marc Fornes leads THEVERYMANY studio, a place where creativity meets precision. The space feels like a modern-day cabinet of curiosities, filled with sculptural models, geometric experiments, and abstract forms that straddle the line between art, architecture, and science. Based in Brooklyn, the studio operates globally, with completed works in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Commissioners of Marc Fornes/THEVERYMANY include Google, Porsche, Louis Vuitton, and Selfridges London̶the last in collaboration with Yayoi Kusama.
Fornes’s work has been acquired and displayed by institutions and galleries around the world including the Centre Pompidou (Paris), where Y/STRUC/SURF is part of the permanent collection, the FRAC Centre (Orleans, FR), and the Storefront for Art and Architecture (New York). He has also exhibited at the Guggenheim, Art Basel Miami, Art Paris, and sold at auction at Phillips.
We are proud to share The Orb by architect-artist Marc Fornes, a monumental pavilion commissioned by Google for their Charleston East Campus in California. The ultra-thin immersive structure offers a futuristic space where employees and visitors can immerse themselves in a dreamlike experience.
Marc Fornes has pioneered the exploration of form, structure, and materiality for over a decade, with works across the American continent, Europe, and Asia. The work of Marc Fornes, and his Brooklyn-based studio THEVERYMANY, has been acquired and displayed by institutions and galleries worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou, Guggenheim, Art Basel Miami, Art Paris and sold at auction at Phillips.
