A 20 bed luxury lodge in the Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.

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For the second high-end offering to the Asilia Africa porfolio, the company required a location and site fitting for such a lodge. Not only does the site, set within a grouping of large granite kopje, meet these expectations, it far exceeds them. It was then up to the architect to design a lodge that not only met the inspiring beauty of the site, but which did not compete with the site features themselves.

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Drawing inspiration from the ancient baobabs that litter the surrounding landscapes, along with the towering boulders around the site, the individual guest rooms suggest both these ancient features, as well as the landscape beyond. WC, closet and coffee stations rise up like baobabs and boulders from the back of the buildings, forming privacy barriers to the public edge. The large overhangs of the roof reach out, mimicking the outstretched branches of the baobabs thus creating a rawness which is fully evident in the harsh landscape during the dry winter months.

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The use of timber is evident throughout, and to a large extent, a result of limited locally available materials and skill levels. Notwithstanding the limitations, the difficulty of building between and over boulders suited the use of timber structures where founding columns could easily be erected between rocks. In addition, timber left to age and weather allows the buildings to further camouflage over time. Timber shutters envelop the structures, allowing for maximum air movement in a hot and dry climate.

 

Location: Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Completition year: November 2017

Owner: Asilia Africa

Operator: Asilia Africa

Photography: Stevie Mann