African project
Mhondoro Game Lodge – South Africa
Opened in early 2016, Mhondoro’s design was a collaborative effort. Working with
the insights from lodge managers Annemarie Sechterberger and Jasper Bruinsma, the
Vogel’s were able to keep authenticity to the bush experience. Bruinsma conceptualised
Mhondoro’s underground waterhole hide, the first of its kind in South Africa. An animal
viewing hide built around the waterhole that stands out front, it is accessed by a lit
underground corridor leading from the Main Lodge, providing guests with the unique
opportunity to view game at their leisure.
At ground level, the hide provides excellent photographic opportunities from a
distinctive perspective, as well as the excitement of getting really up close, anytime day
or night, to elephants and other wildlife drinking from the waterhole.
“The waterhole hide and underground access route really distinguishes Mhondoro
from many other lodges,” says Julia Williams, founder of Imprint Architecture in
Johannesburg. Working on the architecture of the Main Lodge, Williams worked to
integrate features like the waterhole into an overall design that celebrates the bush
surroundings. “In a bush setting, architecture shouldn’t compete with the natural
environment but should complement it,” says Williams. “By using the natural outline
of the landscape, our design blends into the contours of the environment and puts the
horizon and the waterhole on show.”
“The main concept behind the main lodge was an attempt to use contextual forces to
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