A bold new structure has emerged in Cary Park in Cary, North Carolina: a new sculptural pavilion designed by Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY. The work, titled “L’Ile Folie,” pays homage to the architectural tradition of folly, a landscape feature popular among wealthy estate owners in the 18th and 19th centuries.
These follies are often nostalgic, resembling ruined miniature castles or bucolic country buildings, often have no functionality and are seen as purely decorative. Fornes, however, reimagines the practice with an eye toward the future rather than the past. The pavilion “gives this tradition a contemporary meaning: haunting, funny and slightly surreal,” a statement said.
Fornes is known for creating high-tech structures composed of thousands of individual faces, blurring the distinction between architecture and sculpture. Perched on the boardwalk and above a pond, this gleaming white pavilion invites visitors to pause and admire the surrounding natural surroundings from a contemporary landmark.
“Each piece is made from ultra-thin folded aluminum sheets, which are digitally fabricated and precisely riveted in place,” said a statement. “There is no hidden frame; the skin is the structure. Thousands of perforations filter sunlight into delicate patterns, transforming the canopy into an ever-changing atmosphere of shadow and shimmer.”
See more on THEVERYMANY’s Instagram and Vimeo.
