The Green Canopy structure, designed by Durban architects Andrew Makin and Mark Horner of designworkshop : sa, is a 60m x 40m canopy of almost 20 000 Strelitzia nicolai (Wild Banana) leaves hanging from approximately 1.5m long stems, at 8.5m off the ground, shading the Green Square in the centre court of the South Africa Climate Change Response Expo.

Strelitzia nicolai is a plant indigenous to and quintessentially emblematic of the KZN coastal region. It is a prolific and rapidly regenerating plant. The broad, richly green leaves are exquisitely translucent in the sunshine and curl up like giant orchid flowers as they dry towards a browny grey. The leaves are suspended on a catenary structure, like a suspension bridge, made primarily of natural fibre manilla rope still used to tie ships to the local port wharf.

The Green Canopy is supported by two rows of 10 Saligna (Blue Gum) trees harvested from the paper forests in northern KZN. Saligna is an alien tree planted in commercial forests around the world as the source material for the manufacture of paper. It is notorious for its consumption of water, an increasingly scarce and valuable resource. Although the trees are sourced from FSC forests, these particular trees were selected out of the forests because they were too large to harvest for paper and, if left,  would continue to consume water unnecessarily.

With very few exceptions, like the structural steel bases to the trees, all materials used in the creation of the structure are natural and from regenerating sources. In the construction, there is no concrete or glass used, both materials with relatively high levels of embodied energy. All material will either be re-used or recycled when the structure is dismantled.

With its nobility, gravitas and inspirational experiential quality, the Green Canopy gives reverence to the spirit of re-integration of humans and our activities with the natural ecology. Green as a symbol of environmental consciousness, green as an icon of the region, green as a representation of localism, glowing green light as an emblem of hope...

See more photographs of the build-up in action on our Facebook page, here!