Is it a balloon? Is it a bounce house? It’s an inflatable concert hall!

Performers go on tour, instruments go on tour, even stage sets go on tour, but a concert hall going on tour? That’s got to be a first! Not sure if it’s equipped to travel the world yet, but it’s ready to tour Japan!

Say hello to ‘Ark Nova’, the world’s first inflatable concert hall. Designed by British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, the mobile structure is touted to tour Japan, especially areas devastated by 2011’s earthquake and tsunami. The balloon-like installation measures about 18 meters high (60 feet) and 35 meters wide when fully inflated with room for about 500 guests. The luminescent purple walls create a billowing interior fitted with handcrafted benches and a stage.

The team behind its creation hopes to deliver encouragement and positivity in the form of music and creative expression. It can be easily deflated and travel around the region to host events that “help bring people together”. It will play host to world-class concerts, workshops, and both traditional and contemporary performances as part of the Lucerne Festival Ark Nova 2013 in Matsushima. The event is being arranged with the help of Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival, a prominent gathering of world-renowned musicians.

Wood from the area’s damaged cedar trees will be used for seating. The first event will run from Friday through October 14, including performances by the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and traditional Japanese kabuki theatre.

It is currently stationed in Matsushima city on Japan’s ravaged north-eastern coast, which is still healing after being struck by a magnitude 9.0-earthquake and monster tsunami in March 2011, killing nearly 19,000 people and sparking a crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the worst atomic accident in a generation.