We present a gravitational lensing and X-ray analysis of a massive galaxy cluster and its surroundings. The core of MACS,J0717.5+3745 ($M(R<1,{rm Mpc})sim$,$2$$times$$10^{15},msun$, $z$=$0.54$) is already known to contain four merging components. We show that this is surrounded by at least seven additional substructures with masses ranging from $3.8-6.5times10^{13},msun$, at projected radii $1.6$ to $4.9$,Mpc. We compare MACS,J0717 to mock lensing and X-ray observations of similarly rich clusters in cosmological simulations. The low gas fraction of substructures predicted by simulations turns out to match our observed values of $1$--$4%$. Comparing our data to three similar simulated halos, we infer a typical growth rate and substructure infall velocity. That suggests MACS,J0717 could evolve into a system similar to, but more massive than, Abell,2744 by $z=0.31$, and into a $sim$,$10^{16},msun$ supercluster by $z=0$. The radial distribution of infalling substructure suggests that merger events are strongly episodic; however we find that the smooth accretion of surrounding material remains the main source of mass growth even for such massive clusters.
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