Pier 865 / Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY

Architects: THEVERYMANY
Year: 2024
Photography: Keith Isaacs, Steve Kroodsma
Lead Architects: Marc Fornes
Client: City of Knoxville
City: Knoxville, Tennessee
Country: United States

Pier 865 is a site-specific public artwork that merges sculptural expression with civic utility within Knoxville’s Cradle of Country Music Park. Conceived by Marc Fornes and his studio THEVERYMANY, the project extends the notion of a pier beyond its conventional relationship with water, instead projecting visitors outward into the park’s tree canopy and toward distant mountain views. The work combines a cast-in-place concrete base with a lightweight aluminum canopy composed of hundreds of small, folded components, each painted in a subtle chromatic gradient. Together, these elements form a multifunctional structure that accommodates circulation, pause, and informal gathering. The sculpture’s cantilevered wings generate distinct spatial conditions, including shaded areas suitable for performances and small public events. By integrating advanced digital fabrication techniques with an intuitive, bodily experience of space, Pier 865 contributes a contemporary layer to the park’s cultural landscape while remaining accessible, tactile, and rooted in its urban and historical context.

Rather than framing nature as a distant backdrop, Pier 865 positions the visitor within it, elevating the experience of the park through a carefully calibrated interplay of structure, movement, and perception. The project operates simultaneously as infrastructure and artwork, inviting pedestrians from the surrounding Old Town neighborhood and theater district to traverse a concrete extension that gradually dissolves into a canopy of aluminum facets. This transition from solidity to lightness establishes a spatial narrative that unfolds through walking, lingering, and collective occupation.

THEVERYMANY’s approach transforms a straightforward program into an immersive environment through meticulous fabrication logic. Thousands of palm-sized aluminum strips are pre-folded and assembled into a continuous surface that reads as fluid and organic despite its precise construction. Painted in seven tonal variations that echo foliage, sky, and filtered sunlight, the canopy shifts character as viewers move around and beneath it, suggesting different forms depending on vantage point. The structure’s five slender supports and three cantilevered wings choreograph varied experiences, from outward-looking platforms to sheltered spaces that encourage gathering and performance.

Anchored in a park established to celebrate Knoxville’s musical heritage, Pier 865 extends that legacy through contemporary design, offering a new civic landmark that balances experimentation with accessibility. It demonstrates how digitally driven fabrication can yield spaces that feel intuitive and communal, reinforcing the role of public art as an active participant in everyday urban life rather than a purely visual object.