Dubai: The world’s largest floral installation can now be seen here in Dubai. And it has taken shape in one of the world’s largest airplanes – the Emirates A380.
The floral installation was constructed through using more than 500,000 fresh flowers and plants, but when in full bloom, the aircraft structure will have as many as 5 million flowers and will weigh over 100 tonnes.
According to Emirates, the take-off weight of an actual A380 is 575 tonnes.
Boutros Boutros, Divisional Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Emirates, said: “Aviation affects all of our lives, and the A380 on showcase will offer visitors the opportunity to get up close to the double-decker."
The progressive environmental initiatives and methods of building and planting the Emirates A380 installation are also in harmony with the eco-efficiency of the aircraft.”
The flowers and plants used for the ‘living’ Emirates A380 installation were sustainably grown and harvested over a four month period at Dubai Miracle Garden nurseries in the UAE.
The A380 installation comprises of seven varieties of flowers including the Petunia, Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides), Marigold (Tagetes), Snapdragon (Antirrhinum), Viola, Geranium (Pelargonium) and Gaillardia (Gaillardia aristata).
A variety of over 9,000 flowers and plants made up the Emirates iconic logo, and 100,000 blossoms formed the enormous wings, which reach over 80.27 metres wide.
Abdul Nassir Rahhal, Co-Founder and Creator of Dubai Miracle Garden said: “We showcase everyday objects and give them life through flowers and plants, creating a connection with our visitors. We hope that when visitors get up close to the Emirates A380 they will get a sense of the scale in which it was built.”
Over 200 installation crew members worked 10 hours a day for 180 days to build, layer and mount the textural foliage on the 30 tonne steel structure that makes up the aircraft.
The life-size installation is over 72.93 metres long. The fuselage stands 10.82 metres from the ground and the tail at 24.21 metres from the ground. The aircraft structure also includes moving engine fans and other key design features that capture the essence of the original aircraft design.
The installation is the largest structure to ever be built at the garden and is set on a flowerbed of 7,460 square metres, which is around 10 per cent of Dubai Miracle Garden.
The Emirates A380 installation will be on display for the public from November 27, 2016, and can be viewed from a special platform comprising of two levels in the centre of Dubai Miracle Garden.
