Pier 865

cradle of country music park - knoxville, tn

Pier 865.

Architectural Concrete Pier + Lightweight Aluminum Canopy Structure

Commissioned by the City of Knoxville.

Design and Computation: MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY

Status: Expected completion December 2024

Pier 865 is an performative canopy for the park that sits between Knoxville’s downtown theater district and its Old Town neighborhood. Comprised of twisting stripes that rise up from the ground into an open canopy, the integrated pavilion designates a new gathering space for Knoxville residents and visitors. Reminiscent of a grove of old-growth, the structure thrusts up from a cantilevered plinth. The pier maintains the level of the thoroughfare at higher elevation of the site, and continues the well-trafficked ground plane that supports the cultural life of the city into the space of the park, as a kind of stage. The integrated aluminum structure reaches, as does the pier, across the greater length of the site, offering gentle cover on both ends.