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Total shading was introduced as one of the prime factors for improving the thermal performance of buildings and the surrounding spaces in hot-arid regions. The Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Eco-House was taken as a case study, and the findings were used as an input into a prototype housing project in Oman. The Eco-House project was designed and supervised by a team of the college of engineering faculty and students lead by the author. It was built at the university campus by the University Projects Department. This work concentrates on the total shading system used in the project, and presents the theoretical bases, the design, and implementation of the system.

It was constructed of light of weight low-cost outer shell that wrapped around the walls and the roof, and it provided full shade for the building and the surrounding spaces. The shading elements in the system were assessed by graphical shading charts, and physical models. Shading efficiencies were calculated and compared to select the appropriate type for each orientation. The findings of the Eco-House were further developed to be applicable to a shaded prototype housing project. The shading was achieved by the mutual shading of house masses, then complemented by light weight secondary roof shell, and landscape elements.