Anish Kapoor and Arata Isozaki's inflatable concert hall makes European debut
The inflatable Ark Nova concert hall, created by sculptor Anish Kapoor and architect Arata Isozaki in 2013, has been transported from Japan to Switzerland for Lucerne Festival.
The mobile structure, which has been inflated in Europe for first time, will host performances in Lucerne's Lidoweise park as part of the music festival from 4 to 14 September.
Ark Nova was developed by Kapoor and Isozaki in the wake of Japan's catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The project was prompted by Lucerne Festival director Michael Haefliger and concert agent Masahide Kajimoto to unite people through music.
Designed to be both a sculptural work of art and a functional architectural space, the concert hall was first used in 2013 in Matsushima in Japan's Tōhoku region, which was severely affected by the earthquake. It was later inflated in Sendai, Fukushima and Tokyo.
"I am immensely pleased that the Lucerne Festival Ark Nova, after its foundation in Japan in 2013, will now also be coming to the place of its conceptual origin," said Lucerne Festival director Haefliger.
"Under the roof of one of the most spectacular works of art in the world, Lucerne will experience a unique interplay of musical styles from classical to pop, the likes of which have never been seen before."
Ark Nova's envelope is made from a 0.6-millimetre-thick polyester fibre membrane coated in polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is remains inflated by blowing air in with three fans.
Reaching a height of 18 metres and with an inflated volume of 9,117 cubic metres, it bears a similar organic form to Kapoor's 2011 Leviathan sculpture.
Although the rounded pink structure was designed with a maximum capacity of 500, Ark Nova's Lucerne residency accommodates up to 300 visitors.
It is fixed to a steel base plate atop sand, gravel and matting, designed to protect the grassy ground below.
Elsewhere, Kapoor has recently completed a bulbous, mirrored sculpture in New York and an underground station in Naples made from curved panels of weathering steel.
Other inflatable structures recently featured on Dezeen include a 20,000-square-metre shelter over a construction site in China and a classroom in Mexico.
The photography is by Seraina Wirz unless stated otherwise.
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