You can’t miss it. Rising nearly 33 feet into the sky, The Orb glows like a beacon at the heart of Google’s Charleston East Campus in Mountain View, California. It’s not just architecture. It’s not just art. It’s something in between—a curious, shimmering shell that seems to breathe with the light.

Commissioned by Google and designed by Marc Fornes of the experimental studio THEVERYMANY, The Orb isn’t your typical pavilion. Made from 3mm-thick aluminum, its skin is paper-thin yet strong, thanks to over 217,000 rivets holding together more than 6,400 unique parts. Let that sink in for a second—six thousand individually cut aluminum pieces, all coming together like a puzzle that somehow supports itself.

And yet, it feels weightless.

Inside The Orb: THEVERYMANY’s Sculptural Vision for Google

The structure curves and winds like a living organism rooted to the plaza. During the day, sunlight seeps through thousands of tiny perforations, casting speckled shadows across the interior. It’s like standing inside a star map. At night, it glows softly—an alien bloom in the urban landscape.

Fornes calls it “a nimble architecture of experience and light.” And that’s exactly what it is. Part outdoor room, part moment of pause, it draws you in—whether you’re a Googler out for a walk or a curious local passing through the campus.

“It performs as an icon and a point of engagement,” Fornes explains. “At this intersection where the Google campus meets public space, the pavilion invites curiosity and interaction—day and night.”

It’s a bold idea—one rooted in computation and play. And it’s not Fornes’ first. His studio, THEVERYMANY, has enchanted big names like Porsche, Louis Vuitton, and Selfridges (in a playful collaboration with Yayoi Kusama). But The Orb is different. There’s something poetic about it. Something you don’t quite expect from a tech campus.

It doesn’t ask for attention—it earns it. Walk past it, and you’ll find yourself stopping. Step inside, and suddenly the noise of the world fades. You look up, and the ceiling dances in shadows and light.

This isn’t just a structure. It’s an experience. A reminder that in the age of screens and silicon, wonder still matters.