Ark Nova, inflatable concert hall

Ark Nova, the first inflatable concert hall in the world

After the natural disasters that hit Japan in 2011, the first inflatable concert hall in the world, accommodating up to 500 people, was inaugurated from September 27 to October 14, 2013, by the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and others, in a park of Matsushima, Japan.

Origins of Ark Nova concert hall project

Après le tsunami, le sculpteur anglais Anish Kapoor a été chargé, en association avec l’architecte japonais Arata

After the tsunami, English sculptor Anish Kapoor was commissioned in association with Japanese architect Arata Isozaki to design this original and inflatable concert hall, capable to accommodate a mobile structure.

‘It is an honor to have been chosen to design Ark Nova for Tohuko. The structure defines a space for the community and for music in which color and shape concepts are meeting.

I hope that devastation may be passed by creativity. Music can provide respite, unite a community and help realizing that we are not alone.’

This project was launched thanks to the idea of Michael Haefliger, artistic director of the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, in order to give hope to the victims of the natural disaster.

Today, Ark Nova is still used and receives concerts with the same goal, helping the victims of Fukushima disaster.