A space age inflatable foil structure mysteriously nestled on the lawn of the O.Henry Museum, Austin, Texas for SXSW.

The Inflatable Reading Room was designed and built by Ben Brady and Arielle Assouline-Lichten as part of the Library Test Kitchen, a fast prototyping lab that explores the future of library spaces and services. The mobile reading space was parked up on the grass as part of Labrary.bike, a bike driven pop-up festival of library experiments which also showcased CONSTI2GO.

The mobile public space brought a haven of calm to Austin's busy streets and encouraged passersby to enter the space, engage with progressive projects and rethink our relationship to the library.

In the digital age there may be no need to pick up a book from the library, however, the need to engage with others and share thinking has not disappeared. The Inflatable Reading Room probes how the role of the library is evolving.

Another example of a roaming public space is Cricklewood's Mobile Town, which aimed to reconnect people with the importance of community spaces.