MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY installs 'tour de force(s)'

MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY has installed a 120 foot-tall fluorescent pink aluminum architectural sculpture within the world’s largest cruise ship. comprising 10,813 painted aluminum parts, 44,700 rivets, and 23 anchor points, ‘tour de force(s)’ has been situated in one of two lobbies that form the ship’s complete cross-section, where six elevator bays rise over 16 decks, and several flows of people converge.

all images courtesy of MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY, (main image by brice pelleschi)

at three times the size of the titanic, royal caribbean’s harmony of the seas forms a temporary home for up to 5,400 people at any one time. the permanent installation, designed by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY, offers a variety of experiences depending on where it is viewed from — looking up while waiting for the elevator; looking out from a contemplative position on any of the decks above; or as a dynamic view from inside an elevator as it either lifts or lowers. according to the design team, the piece has the same objective as the cruise vacation itself: to remove a person from his or her familiar, everyday life, and place them somewhere out of the ordinary.

a generic mesh is anchored at 23 fixed points and submitted to physical forces

‘tour de force(s)’ is designed and generated through tension. ‘a generic mesh is anchored at 23 fixed points and submitted to physical forces, resulting in a 3D curvilinear perimeter,’ explains MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY. ‘as the piece rises through the spine of the lobby, expressing tensile forces along the way, a juxtaposition is revealed between each side’s accent color: bright neon yellow on the front, deep blue on the back. the play on the curvature of the surfaces varies perception, allowing sometimes only the blue side to be seen, sometimes only the yellow, and sometimes both.’

the florescent pink surface is adorned with organically-formed yellow and blue trails

the project’s assembly took four days to complete with the 10,813 individual parts pre-assembled into 47 sections, each approximately 1m x 1.25m x 2m in volume, packaged and shipped to site. ‘tour de force(s) is conceived as more of a scalable architectural skin than as an artwork, which could easily be assumed of a piece hanging within a large void,’ adds the design team. ‘fully in tension in its final stage, the aluminum does not necessarily require such a thickness. artificially thickening it, however, provides resistance to the transportation and fast-paced manipulation by marine riggers in the ship’s atrium — distinguishing such a skin from a temporary installation piece.’

the work offers variety of experiences depending on where it is viewed from

the florescent pink surface is adorned with organically-formed yellow and blue trails that each have a different type of behavior. all three colors create a composite multi-layer system, which — due to the slight give between parts — is able to assume the described double curvature without the need for cold bending or folds. the finish includes an application of powder-coating to provide resistance to corrosion, a second layer of liquid paint, and last, a layer of transparent varnish for the protection.

the piece is a permanent installation on board the world’s largest cruise ship