The brandnew P&O Arvia is equipped by an impressive Glass Dome above the Panorama Deck 18.

This Sky Dome maximize time in the caribbean sunshine, the Arvia will visit. By day the roof covers a relaxed pool area with entertainment including live music and spectacular shows by night.

The marine glazing specialist Brombach + Gess developed and delivered the retractable glass roof which consists of two sliding elements and a fore and an aft non-movable part.

With an overall length of 43m, a width of 34m and a height above the baseline of 62m, the roof adorns the Arvia as an impressive highlight.

The roof structure is a grid construction with arches from starboard to portside and longitudinal beams made of welded rectangular hollow profiles.

The material of the roof structure is made of steel. The total weight of the roof has about 156 tonnes.

In order to keep the temperatures under the roof at a moderate level, the roof is equipped with high durable solar control laminated safety glass. The glasses are glued direct on the steel structure, with sealing between the glass panes. Thus the surface of the roof is flat with no upstands that could accumulate residues.This makes it easy to clean the roof.

The opening and closing process of the roof is driven by motorized electrically worm gears and chains. The running speed is 1m/min. This allows an opening and closing time of the roof within 10 minutes.

The two movable roof parts are connected with chains to two electonically synchonized geared motors. The gears are self locking, so that the movable parts can be stopped and hold safely in each position.

Pneumatic inflatable gaskets between the non-movable and the movable sections ensure that the entire roof is sealed in the closed position. The actuation is part of the automatic opening and closing procedure.

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Brombach + Gess designed and installed a retractable roof on the Europa II which covers the entire width of the deck with across a span of 22 m and a length of 35 m.

The entire retractable roof is segmented into 6 elements – two fixed areas in the fore and aft sections and four movable elements which can be retracted over the fixed elements.

The objective in the planning for the roof was to develop the lightest and most streamlined structure possible without additional braces and supports. The entire frame structure was made from aluminum, allowing for a weight reduction of 20 t in comparison with a steel structure. The glass in the roof is a laminated solar-filtered glass which keeps to temperatures under the roof at a moderate level. The glass is bonded flat to the aluminum structure. As a result, stress peaks on the glass, caused by the relatively soft aluminum structure, are avoided.

The roof can be stopped in any desired intermediate position. The roof segments are permanently connected by a toothed belt via a self-locking transmission.

The travel speed is 6 m/min. This allows the roof to be opened and closed within 2 minutes. The roof is remotely controlled. A screen shows all of the operating states and the position of the roof. An additional emergency control panel is located in the wheelhouse.