Rooftop shading is an effective green building design strategy in subtropical areas; it can create an ecological rooftop space and produce energy savings for rooms on the top floor. This article describes the rooftop shading system of the Humanities Building at SCUT (South China University of Technology). A shading calculation software developed by the Building Energy Efficiency Laboratory (BEEL) of SCUT is used to calculate and analyze the rooftop shading effect in summer and winter. The actual performance of this rooftop shading system was evaluated by measuring the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) in the shaded and unshaded areas under the shading system on July 2, 2003. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.