Thermopal panels used in world's largest cruise liner

Laminated wood-based panels from Thermopal have been used in the main 3,000-seat restaurant of the world’s biggest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas.

The €950m ship, which weighs 225,282 gross tons and takes 5,900 guests, was named in Florida on December 1 and features Thermopal’s Noce Padia and Macassar brown high-pressure laminated panels in the Opus Dining Room.

Products were specified by US architects RTKL Associates “because of the life-like renditions of exotic woods” and due to Thermopal’s products being certified in accordance with guidelines for ship construction.

Despite being so big, the Opus Dining Room has been designed to model transatlantic ocean liners of the art deco era, which means corners, nooks and partitions are arranged to ensure areas are only partially exposed.

Thermopal is a subsidiary of Pfleiderer.