paul cocksedge designs 33-metre long canopy inspired by the sun's movements

paul cocksedge has unveiled plans to build a 33-metre long sculptural shade in one of the world’s largest botanical gardens in oman. the london designer has partnered with engineering firm arup to create the steel structure which is inspired by the sun’s path across the sky.

the 33-metre long sculptural shade is made out of steel and coloured in a golden hue
images courtesy of paul cocksedge

the canopy was designed using planetary data, and has a figure of eight that refers to the sun’s changing position across the course of a year. it will offer shade to visitors of the soon-to-open oman botanic garden, a 420-hectre garden set to become the largest of its kind within the arabian peninsula. designed by grimshaw architects, in collaboration with arup and haley sharpe design, the garden will be located 35 kilometres outside the capital city muscat in the foothills of the al hajar mountains.

‘it made sense to use the sun, and our perception of its movements as the basis for our design’, says paul cocksedge. ‘there’s so much data, and so many shapes and lines that we could never have imagined ourselves.’

the canopy was designed using planetary data and will offer shade to visitors of the soon-to-open botanic garden

‘we based the shade on the sun’s shifting position in the sky, which we plotted using an analemma – a diagram that shows the sun as if photographed from the garden at the same time every day for a year’, he explains. ‘every analemma is unique to its location, meaning the canopy’s form is specific to its surroundings’.