CONSTRUCTION


Building a Butterfly House in the U.A.E.

In December 2015, the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates inaugurated Al Noor Island, a new tourist and recreational destination built on a small island in Sharjah's Khalid Lagoon.
10 February, 2016
Al Noor Island features exotic trees (including centuries-old olive trees from Spain), 300-million-year-old crystal rocks, and art installations, but the highlight of the grounds are the Butterfly Pavilion designed by German firm 3deluxe.
Al Noor Island's most striking feature, the 820 square meter Butterfly Pavilion is housed under a load-bearing three-dimensional frame made out of over 4,000 golden aluminium leaves. Drawing on parametric design practices and created with traditional Arabian decorative styles in mind, the three interlocking sections that make up the stunning aluminium roof are held up by only nine points and three pillars.

The design of the "Golden Roof" is not only visually stunning but also serves to regulate the climate within the butterfly habitat, supporting a "chimney effect" that funnels hot air over the roof and façade while water pools within the building cool and humidify incoming air.
While the highest points of the roof stand at 13 meters off the ground, the setup of the interlocking sections allows the entire structure to stand with a support structure that is only 200mm thick.

The choice of material for the roof structure helps it maintain its delicate and intricate feeling, as aluminium marries together both light weight and extreme durability. The roof's individual leaves are joined together by intelligent node connectors, whose built-in LED lights can be programmed for light displays for visitors seeing the island during the evening or at night. The anodized gold paint on the aluminium roof was designed to withstand the hot, sunny climate of the Emirates, which presents challenges such as salty air and sandstorms.
Contained within the Pavilion is the Butterfly Aviary, which is nestled in the center of the larger building and shaded by its golden roof. The aviary is a self-contained, 230-square-meter artificial rainforest ecosystem that serves as a home to the Pavilion's exotic butterflies. Its steel structure is clothed by an all-glass façade to keep the barriers between the aviary's interior and the rest of the Pavilion as minimal as possible.

Thanks to skylights, visitors to the aviary can enjoy views through the golden leaves of the Pavilion's roof. At the same time, the leaves that surround the building's exterior offer a captivating interplay of light and shadow within the complex. The Aviary reflects 3deluxe's principal of "multilayered atmospheres," with the undulating landscape and repeating patterns printed over the Krion material melding together walls, floors, and ceilings.

Photo by Arch Daily (JoaquínBusch)
The 500-plus butterflies living in the Aviary are flown in to the U.A.E. from Malaysia twice a week. Living within the sphere, they have an average lifespan of one week after hatching from the cocoon. Thanks to the sealed ecosystem offered by the Aviary, the facility can be maintained at a constant temperature of 26°C and preserve the high humidity the butterflies require to survive. The species housed within the Aviary include the plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus), the lime butterfly (Papilio demoleus), the leopard lacewing (Cethosia cyane), and the tree nymph (Idea leuconoe).

Beyond the Butterfly Pavilion, Austrian artist André Heller and 3deluxe are in the process of designing a 2.5-hectare landscape park that will feature multiple themed pavilions and other buildings. While the Al Noor park itself opened in December 2015, these additional attractions within the park will continue to open over the months to come. These include art pieces such as "OVO" and "Torus," light paintings put on display after dark, and a "Literature Pavilion." Locals and tourists alike can access the 45,470 square meter Al Noor island park via a pedestrian bridge that connects it to the rest of Sharjah.
The "Literature Pavilion" and "Butterfly Pavilion". Photos by Emirates 247