heated pool. Sculptural raw rusted steel pool pavilions, inspired by
the canopy of the local Tamboti tree, filter dappled light through
their cantilevered branches. Each house is also equipped with a
commercial kitchen with a dedicated chef.
The angular or divaricate architectural forms that are the
aesthetic signature at the heart of the lodge design were inspired
by the Acacia thorns indigenous to the area. The convergent
straight lines and expansive cantilevered roof structures of
the lodge not only offset the architecture against its setting
- a sculptural form or jewel in the landscape - but also frame
and mediate the experience of the bush. The open, seamless
boundaries between interior and exterior have the effect of
immersing guests in their environment rather than placing them
on a platform, reduced to mere spectatorship. This architectural
response facilitates a much more profound and layered interaction
with the environment than traditional lodge design.
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The fractured arrangement of the buildings also made it
possible to retain established trees on the site and build around
them, enhancing the lodge’s sense of integration with the
environment and allowing to tread lightly on the site.
While off-shutter concrete provides straight lines, the creative
use of raw materials grounds the design in the landscape and
allows the purity of the architectural forms to flow seamlessly
from outside to inside. Feature walls built with hand packed-raw
Mica, naturally rusting Corten steel and timber elements introduce
warmth and earthy, raw textures. The honest expression of these
materials, selected to age and weather naturally over time,
lends the design integrity and a sense of natural transformation
and growth.
Where the architecture is pristine and linear, the interior design
introduces softness and texture – at times retaining a certain
grittiness with rough stone walls, raw concrete, weathered steel
Cheetah Plains