The multi-purpose performance space “Studio B”, on Navigator of the Seas, is the fourth evolution of this unusual ship board venue. For Navigator of the Seas, the fourth ship in RCCL’s Voyager Class, the firm’s Studio B designers worked with the abstract concept of time as the space’s design theme. Working with references to time ranging from an historical and literary context, to mechanisms invented to record the passage of time and, ultimately, to the experience of time as journey, these ideas are conveyed through words and images in a refined graphic art package that integrates the entire space — at once humorous, educational and entertaining.

The palette within Studio B is a study in contrasts, a balance of the warm light of daytime and the coolness of nighttime, color changes that represent the daily cycle. The stage curtain continues the temporal theme with an image of the passage of time as represented by the rotation of the earth. The curtain and the ice skating rink are the culminating experience that begins when passengers approach Studio B, pause at the display cases, enter past the technological wonders of the broadcast booths, purchase a drink at the flanking bars, and finally take their seats.

Metropolis Theater, Navigator of the Seas

Project Info
Cost: not available
Complete: 2002
Scope: Architecture, Interior Design, Construction Review
Client: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines
Staff: Scott Wilson, AIA; Scott Butler, AIA; Barbara Sherman, IIDA; Tom Hains

arts / entertainment

cruise ships / hospitality