Airship Hangar Converted to Indoor Tropical Resort
The world’s largest freestanding hall is in Eastern Germany, and is now a resort called Tropical Islands. A deserted former zeppelin hangar and German military airport, a Malaysian entrepreneur purchased the dome and created an entire Tropical Island resort—all within the hangar. The 710,000 square foot space is filled with all things tropical and resort—a Balinese lagoon, a rainforest, white sand beaches, wellness spas, camping sites, and Germany’s largest waterslide. There’s even enough space to take an air balloon ride. The dome is so big that technically it could fit the Statue of Liberty in it standing up, and the Eiffel Tower lying on its side. With the latest technology, Tropical Islands is able to retain an ideal tropical climate for daytime and night. Although the experience might be a little Truman Show-ish, at least winter-weary Europeans have the option of walking into a man-made paradise.
Photo source: wassmer on flickr (cc)
Photo source: Tropical Islands.
Holy conversions, military resorts, and barnyard transformations—I can’t wait to see what future architects come up with.
