Thursday, March 31, 2011

Paradise on a Hanger


Open since 2004, Tropical Islands is an indoor resort, built inside a large aircraft hangar, an hour’s drive from Berlin. It’s a man-made micro-ecosystem complete with hundreds of species of plants, sandy beaches, crystal-clear waterfalls and even bird and insect sounds made by speakers disguised as boulders. It spreads over 5 million cubic meters and it is taller than the Statue of Liberty; when the sun shines outside, visitors can actually get a tan, thanks to the effect of the sunbeams penetrating the hangar’s transparent roof, even if the weather is freezing outside.

5181705940301174034Designed by a British engineering company in Brand, south of the German capital, Tropical Islands is the latest brainchild of a Malaysian entrepreneur, Colin Au, 55, who made his money cruises and Asian resorts. He has invested £48 million in the project.

5181705944596141346
5181705953186075954
5181705961776010562
5181705751322612930
5181705764207514834
5181705768502482146
5181705777092416754
5181705781387384066
5181705510804444274
5181705519394378882
5181705532279280786
5181705536574248098
5181705540869215410
5181705141437256738
5181705145732224050
5181705154322158658
5181705154322158674
5181705158617125986
5181704810724774866
5181704815019742178
5181704819314709490
5181704827904644098
5181704840789546002
5181704587386475394
5181704600271377298
5181704613156279202
5181704630336148402
5181704638926083010
For More Info.