CHEETAH PLAINS
ARCHITECTS: ARRCC
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INTERIORS: ARRCC
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PHOTOGRAPHY: ADAM LETCH
he new Cheetah Plains game lodge in the Sabi Sand
Game Reserve in the Kruger National Park, South Africa,
designed by ARRCC, reinvents traditional safari-style
architecture to create an altogether new safari experience of
nature from within. Combining state-of-the-art sustainable
architecture with a pioneering afro-minimalist aesthetic, Cheetah
Plains contrasts confident contemporary inorganic forms with the
natural landscape, creating something beautiful in the unexpected
creative contrast of seemingly opposing forces.
The lodge accommodation at Cheetah Plains is split into three
separate, private components referred to as the Plains Houses.
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These, in turn, are made up of clusters of free-standing buildings
rather than the typical lodge typology of a central communal
space surrounded by bedroom suites. Each Plains House has a
private arrival courtyard with covered canopy, an expansive open-
plan lounge, dining and bar space with adjoining air-conditioned
wine room and a private family/media room. These communal
living spaces are each surrounded by four standalone bedroom
suites, almost large enough to be considered a mini-lodges in
their own right.
The outdoor features woven into the spaces around each
Plains House include a boma area, an expansive terrace, and a
Cheetah Plains