Old Beijing junkyard covered with inflatable canopy by Max Gerthel and Jordan Kanter
This events pavilion inflates and deflates to mimic a breathing octopus – the latest in a series of inflatable structures being created by designers. More
This events pavilion inflates and deflates to mimic a breathing octopus – the latest in a series of inflatable structures being created by designers. More
From a blow-up mobile concert hall to an inflatable PVC nightclub, architects have been experimenting with a variety of balloon-like structures. We've pinned the most unusual examples to a new Pinterest board.
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Inflatable buildings are back in fashion, and being created for all kinds of functions. Here are 10 of the most inventive examples, including a mobile concert hall, a black PVC nightclub and a field of giant mushrooms. More
Swiss studio Bureau A created this inflatable PVC nightclub to host the annual party of the Federation of Swiss Architects (+ slideshow). More
A giant inflatable environment by Spanish architects DOSIS is to be blown up in an east London park to host a day of piñata making and film screenings (+ slideshow). More
Bjarke Ingels' firm has revealed images of a huge inflatable pavilion it created for this year's edition of the annual music festival in Roskilde, Denmark (+ slideshow). More
Paddleboarders receive a boost on the water with this jet-propelled board that also self-inflates by Slovenian company SipaBoards (+ movie). More
Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno has created a pair of air-filled globes that he eventually plans to sail across the sky. More
South Korean designer Seung Jin Yang has coated brightly coloured balloons in resin to create these inflated seats. More
American designer Ken Tanabe has used a range of unusual materials including balloons, videotapes and CDs to form alternative Halloween costumes. More
Bulgarian designer Petar Dimitrov has created a pair of lightweight inflatable snowshoes that can be packed into two bags (+ slideshow). More
French artist Charles Pétillon has installed a giant cloud of balloons under the roof of the 19th-century Market Building in London's Covent Garden (+ movie). More
This daybed by Italian designer Emanuele Magini is based on the blow-up mattresses used for lounging on the beach or floating on a swimming pool. More
London studio Loop.pH has created an inflatable plastic dome by London's River Thames that will be pumped full of scented vapour to create a gathering space intended to replicate the atmosphere of a traditional bathhouse (+ slideshow). More
Children would swing beneath a giant colourful hot-air balloon in this proposal for a sculpture park in Queens by Australian architect Jesse Lockhart-Krause. More
A pair of French product designers have created an inflatable bandage that snaps around the wrist like a slap bracelet so it can be self-administered with only one hand. More
Visitors to Korea's National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art can now frolic over and amongst a field of mushroom-shaped inflatables based on the landscape of a Korean fairy tale (+ slideshow). More
This inflatable bag by Royal College of Art graduate Peng You is designed to keep electronic devices safe from knocks and bumps. More
Milan 2014: these LED lamps by German graduate designer Theo Möller blow up like balloons to create inflatable lighting. More
Two years after a major earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, architect Arata Isozaki and artist Anish Kapoor have completed an inflatable mobile concert hall that will tour affected regions (+ slideshow). More