Lunawood enhances safety in hotel architecture with the new Class B fire-resistant Lunawood ThermoWood®

The European hotel sector has a new benchmark in the Hotel Popal, located in Utrecht, Netherlands, whose impressive sculptural façade was designed using fire-resistant Lunawood ThermoWood®. This technological solution, exclusively distributed in Spain by Gabarró Hermanos, demonstrates that it is possible to combine the aesthetic warmth of natural wood with the strictest technical requirements for fire safety.

The recently renovated Hotel Popal, located in the vibrant Werkspoorkwartier district of Utrecht, stands as a symbol of modernity and safety thanks to its innovative wooden façade. Designed by the prestigious firm MONK Architects BNA, the project is notable for its use of Lunawood ThermoWood®, combining a cutting-edge aesthetic with maximum fire protection.

Hotel Popal (Utrecht) Lunawood ThermoWood® fire-resistant cladding. Triple Panel System. The newly renovated Hotel Popal combines cutting-edge aesthetics with maximum fire protection.

A Rhythmic and Sculptural Design

The Popal Hotel, a former office building transformed into a boutique hotel for business travelers and tourists, features an exterior skin that plays with light and shadow. The architects selected a combination of profiles from the Luna Panel System family and the award-winning Luna Triple, installed in horizontal patterns that align with the window heights and naturally acquire a uniform gray tone.

This layered arrangement not only emphasizes the stepped geometry of the roof but also creates a tactile and visually dynamic surface that harmonizes with the creative and cultural character of the area.

Hotel Popal (Utrecht) Lunawood ThermoWood® fire-resistant cladding. Triple Panel System. Its layered arrangement creates a visual effect that blends seamlessly with the area's architectural style.

• Luna Panel System: a family of profiles designed to offer a contemporary and minimalist finish. Its main feature is design versatility. Its ‘Shadow Line’ design features straight, sharp edges that create a 3 mm shadow line between the panels. This gives the appearance of individual slats but with the ease of installation of a tongue-and-groove system. It is available in various sizes (such as 19x68, 19x117, and 19x140 mm). Being compatible with each other, they allow architects to play with different widths on the same wall to create a random or customized visual rhythm. It features a concealed fixing design so that screws or nails are hidden in the tongue of the joint, leaving a clean surface with no visible fixings. It is ideal for both exterior facades and interior cladding and ceilings.

   

• Luna Triple: one of the brand's most iconic products, internationally recognized for its aesthetic and sustainable innovation. It is a wide panel (typically 32x140 mm) with two deep grooves milled into its surface. This creates the illusion, once installed, that the facade is composed of much thinner, individual slats, when in reality it is a single solid panel. Being a wide panel, it is installed much faster than individual slats, while still offering the same sophisticated visual appearance of 'micro-slats'.

Both products share Thermo-D technology, which means they are rot-resistant, dimensionally stable, and acquire that elegant silvery-gray tone if not treated with UV oils.

Sustainability and Natural Aging

True to Lunawood's commitment to sustainable architecture, the wood used is certified Nordic spruce and pine, thermally modified only with heat and steam. At the Popal Hotel, the wood has been left untreated, allowing it to develop a natural silvery-gray patina over time due to UV radiation.

This aging process does not affect the wood's technical properties or fire resistance, ensuring a durable, stable, and low-maintenance façade that only gets better with age.

Hotel Popal (Utrecht) Lunawood ThermoWood® fire-resistant cladding. Triple Panel System. In this case, the wood has been left without surface treatment to allow it to develop a natural silvery-gray patina.

Fire safety without compromising the wood

Lunawood ThermoWood® fire-resistant treatment allows the use of Nordic wood in projects requiring Euroclass B (EN 13501) classification. Unlike traditional surface coatings, Lunawood's treatment penetrates deep into the wood structure through a pressure impregnation process. This offers significant competitive advantages by providing comprehensive protection and guaranteeing consistent fire performance throughout the product's life cycle. It is a highly versatile product, suitable for facades, interiors, walls, and ceilings, and ideal for contract projects due to its low maintenance, making it a durable and easy-to-install solution.

Click on the image to access the Lunawood Academy video where Matias explains how this new treatment transforms Lunawood's thermally modified wood into a fire-resistant wood ideal for projects requiring Euroclass B classification (EN 13501).