This September, Lucerne Festival staged one of its most ambitious architectural gestures with Ark Nova, the world’s first mobile inflatable concert hall. Conceived by the late Japanese architect Arata Isozaki (1931–2019) and British-Indian artist Sir Anish Kapoor, the temporary structure combined sculpture, engineering, and sound into a single cultural landmark on the city’s Lidowiese.
Ark Nova was created in response to the 2011 earthquake in Japan as a symbol of resilience and renewal. Isozaki, celebrated for projects such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, was known for his ability to cross boundaries between architecture, art, and theory. Kapoor, the Turner Prize–winning artist behind works such as Cloud Gate in Chicago and the monumental installations for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, brought his sculptural language of organic form and rich materiality. Together, their collaboration gave Ark Nova a monumental yet ephemeral character, an inflatable skin that expanded into a magical curving interior.
Inside, the space avoided the rigid hierarchies of traditional concert halls. Instead, Kapoor’s intense color and form created an enveloping atmosphere, while Isozaki’s architectural precision shaped the proportions for both acoustic and spatial clarity. The result was less a concert venue than a walk-in artwork, where music resonated in every direction and the audience was immersed within the architecture itself.
From 4 to 14 September, Ark Nova hosted 35 concerts from classical and jazz to pop genres, alongside community performances and guided tours. A special exhibition at the Hans Erni Museum added further context.
“The opening of the Ark Nova in Lucerne marks a milestone – a symbol of the power of culture to bring people together and inspire hope,” says Michael Haefliger, Executive and Artistic Director of Lucerne Festival.
Though temporary, Ark Nova left Lucerne with an indelible image: Isozaki’s experimental architecture fused with Kapoor’s sculptural imagination, a reminder of how design and art can create spaces that are both fragile and monumental, immediate yet timeless.
Photo Credits: Lucerne Festival | Ark Nova | Lucerne 2025 © Anish Kapoor, all rights reserved. Photos: Seraina Wirz & Patrick Hürlimann (drone footage)
