The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum approached G.H. Bruce with a challenging assignment. Create a shelter for an aquatic exhibit that protects animals, visitors, and staff from the harsh sun of the Arizona desert.

The resulting soft shell forms, while unique in its body of work, emerged out of the curvilinear design vocabulary G.H. Bruce has developed for over 25 years. The elegant arrangement of these forms was designed after careful study of the sun’s path, to maximize summer shade while keeping the space open to breezes and ambient light. During winter the tilt of the forms allows greater amounts of ambient light while still minimizing glare and maximizing visitors’ ability to see into the waters. These forms, their scale, and their color pallet respect the pristine landscape surrounding the Museum, the saguaro studded lava flows of the Saguaro National Park.

The addition of an OSPREY® from the Tensile Shade Products line of pre-engineered shade structures signals the exhibit entrance, and shades staff and visitors in line for entry. This exhibit has quickly become one of the most popular.

GHB is proud to have supported this local organization with substantial donations of design time, installation labor, and material costs.