Minimum - Max

Minimum/Maximum is a striped, irregular-surface pavilion designed by MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY for the 2017 World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan, offering visitors a moment of contemplation within a busy fairground. Visitors of all ages instinctively come to play inside the structure, squeezing their bodies into the folded creases at the base as if their shapes perfectly match the twisted form. Inside Minimum/Maximum, one enters a strange, futuristic sci-fi world that liberates the body and evokes childlike wonder. The project is fundamentally different from conventional architectural environments, triggering an impulse to explore and producing a visual promenade effect. It makes visitors feel like children again, experiencing space through raw sensory investigation rather than conceptual reference. The project extends the studio's research on ultra-thin structures, achieving structural integrity through a self-supporting hyperbolic surface that meets required strength. The studio created a space that appears eccentric yet durable, using curved forms whose branching logic is unrelated to conventional column-and-beam systems. A networked surface folds around and transforms into a spatial enclosure, blurring concepts of entrance, exit, and threshold while simultaneously providing its own support. The aluminum sheet surface is extraordinarily thin, only 6 mm thick; if an egg were scaled to the same height as Minimum/Maximum, its shell would be proportionally thicker. At the base, the undulating surface begins to ripple and crease, gradually rising at an angle until it forms a complete hem. This marks the beginning of visual transformation from the folded base to the smooth, hyperboloid continuous surface. The change is subtle, but its structural effect becomes critical at 43 degrees. The installation uses a multi-layer composite: three flat striped sheets with white outer layers and a magenta middle layer, arranged in series and mutually supporting through curved geometry and added height. No single layer works alone; all benefit from the unified structural system. Stripes on each layer shift perpendicular to one another, creating a composite material whose structural properties vary by direction. The composite system is mechanically assembled, allowing reassembly and correction during construction. Minimum/Maximum stands as a permanent and prominently located structure at the Expo, creating a successful destination for visitor experience and providing a place for quiet reflection.