Pine Sanctuary by Marc Fornes / Theverymany

Pine Sanctuary
Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

On the road to Riverwood, a peak among pines announces the sprawling park, a scenery of natural splendor, but unreal experiences. Pine Sanctuary by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY is a “placemaker” for Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Theverymany

It signals the entrance to the park and provides a unique spatial experience for visitors to wander through and enjoy. From the speed of a car driving down Burnhamthorpe Road West, the piece stands out as a visual icon, but its tall and pointed profile is at home in the context of Riverwood’s pine trees, even if it provokes a second look.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Theverymany

Something super-natural
Real-world comparisons are subjective; depending on the person viewing, they may vary from flower to petals to spanning webs. The colors of the piece pop. They are borrowed from their environment, but heightened and pushed to the realm of pop artificiality: a stepped gradient of aqua, chartreuse, and cyan vibrates among other greens and blues. The delaminated, double-layered skin provides a moiré of colors, as well as shadows and speckled light to catch on the ground.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

This first glimpse of Pine Sanctuary instills a childlike sense of curiosity. An inviting enclosure at a scale between sculpture and architecture, at once playful and mystical, it tempts a passerby to enter. Inside, intrigue is rewarded with a unique experience of space and light, and a deep, quiet, contemplative appreciation. This might translate into wonder about what this fantastical anomaly is, and how it was made, or something more introspective and meditative. se their time.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

A delicate balance of surface + structure
In a kind of dance, this system of branches rotates around a center point. The overall geometry is comprised of an aggregation of dripping “Macro Shingles” which form pockets of space, blurring the lines between inside out, while increasing shadowy coverage.There’s no trunk holding up this arboreal structure. Instead, it opens up into a shady space.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

Macro shingles resolve into branches that touch the ground lightly around a covered grove, like a redwood hollowed out. A top central moment peels away and branches into several feet that lightly meet the ground, along the way creating a labyrinth through which one can slip in, out and around. Circling the structure, no facade ever repeats itself. The new, unique angle upon every step forward prolongs the sense of discovery.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

Ultra-thin bending-active
“Bending-Active” describes a form-finding process that derives from the elastic deformation of a plate element. In this case, the bending behavior of 2mm thick aluminum stripes assumes curvature to gain structural performance. Here, thin aluminum allows us to create a hybrid structure: most of the stripes bend into place while also connecting to a thin spine made from folded plates, articulated in black

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Theverymany

Stripes, chevrons, spine
The project is an example of the studio’s innovative “Structural Stripes”—a building system in which a continuous surface is de/composed into custom designed and digitally fabricated parts, cut from ultra-thin aluminum. They laminate in multiple directions to create the curvilinear form of each component piece. Linear stripes and arching components are laser cut from thin-gauge aluminum sheets and painted with fours shades of green, a blue, black and white to produce a dynamic coloration across the whole system.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey

The stripes of Pine Sanctuary adjust in density, so that gaps between them generate areas of porosity. In petal-like forms, the stripes merge together at the base, offering spaces where dancers and explorers and tree-dwellers of all kinds can tuck in, recline, or hide for a moment. 3,161 unique stripes accumulate to host these activities. Day and night, our tree-like pavilion anticipates diverse occupations. When and how you choose spend your time there is up to you. Source by Marc Fornes / Theverymany.

Pine Sanctuary
Photo © Light Monkey
  • Location: Mississauga, ON, Canada
  • Architect: Marc Fornes / Theverymany
  • Dimensions: 26’ H x 20’ W x 20’ D
  • Parts: 3,161 “Structural Stripes” in 2mm aluminum
  • Year: 2018
  • Photographs: Light Monkey, Courtesy of Marc Fornes / Theverymany

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