Suyian Lodge safari resort in Kenya "feels deeply integrated" with site
Domed roofs and stone cladding lend an organic look to Suyian Lodge, a safari resort in Kenya by British firms Michaelis Boyd and South African studios Nicholas Plewman Architects and Fox Browne Creative.
Located within the 17,806-hectare Suyian Conservancy nature reserve in Laikipia, the resort provides 15 standalone villas for the luxury safari company &Beyond.
Alongside the villas, Michaelis Boyd, Nicholas Plewman Architects and Fox Browne Creative have also created a wellness centre, bar, restaurant and photo-editing suite for the resort.
The structures are all designed to function off-grid and built with natural materials, with the aim of respecting the surrounding landscape.
"Building in such a remote and ecologically sensitive environment presented challenges of logistics and minimal intervention but also provided the opportunity to design a lodge that feels deeply integrated with both its natural and cultural landscape," said Michaelis Boyd co-founder Alex Michaelis.
"The domed villa forms echo the nearby rock outcrops, while the architecture's colour, texture, and materiality blend seamlessly into the environment, creating a lodge that feels as though it has emerged organically from its setting," he told Dezeen.
Suyian Lodge is divided across several structures scattered across the vast nature reserve. The main lodge contains a bar, restaurant and lounge, alongside a pool and wellness centre with a sauna, yoga and gym. There are also 14 one-bedroom villas and one two-bedroom villa.
Each of these is positioned in line with the contours and rocky outcrops of the landscape, and oriented towards the sunrise, visible from large terraces sheltered beneath wooden canopies.
The domed form of the villas is designed to create an expansive feeling in the bedroom and living areas, while in the wellness areas, rotating timber shutters allow spaces to be fully opened up to the landscape.
Locally sourced stone cladding and earth-toned render cover the exterior of the buildings, while pale lime plaster and dark timber are used for the interiors, which were overseen by Fox Browne Creative.
"The domed, vegetation-covered roofs stand out as the defining gesture of the design; an architectural language rarely seen in African safari lodges," said Michaelis.
"The villas are composed of three interconnected domed spaces, a living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom linked by vaulted ceilings and opening onto a full-length terrace with a plunge pool and outdoor shower," he added.
Suyian Lodge's systems are designed to be as low-impact as possible, with the complex being entirely off-grid and powered by solar energy and water sources from boreholes.
Its surrounding landscape has been rewilded with indigenous planting, led by Nairobi landscape architect Tufaha Africa, and is complete with an elephant fence that allows animals to roam right up to its perimeter.
Nicholas Plewman Architects and Michaelis Boyd previously collaborated on the Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, a boutique safari lodge in Botswana.
In South Africa, Nicholas Plewman Architects collaborated with Studio Asaï to create the Tembo Tembo lodge, which is built using rammed earth in reference to the site's large termite nests.
The photography is by &Beyond/Dook.
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