greg walton rtkl 38 boutiquedesign.com APRIL 2014 The tree houses were the brainchild of students in the cruise ship interior architecture program at Florida International University. "The Celebrity marketing team came up with the idea of having students develop a concept for this new space," Walton explains. "Once they came up with the tree house theme, we were asked to bring the concept to fruition." The creation of spaces like the Hideaway and Two70° also reflects a wider trend of designers being called on to create a greater variety of onboard environments. "Today's cruise ship passengers are looking for a 'wow' on board-they want to have an experience that will make their cruise memorable," say 5+design's Magill. "To do that, cruise lines are offering more personalized cruising experiences, as well as more choices in on-board entertainment, dining and retail." That, in turn, means more opportunities for designers wanting to strut their stuff by creating groundbreaking environments on ship. M I K E B U T L E R ( H I D E WAY ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F R T K L ( WA LT O N ) 4 Because all shipboard construction has to be non-combustible, RTKL's Greg Walton says the faux tree houses in the Hideaway zones on two Celebrity ships are made of metal painted to look like wood.http://www.boutiquedesign.com