Nicholas Plewman Architects

SUYIAN LODGE

The guest areas are organised around a series of curved forms that respond to the granite outcrops of the Rock Sanctuary beyond. The main lodge forms a central gathering space, with lounges, dining areas and terraces arranged to follow the contours of the ridge and open towards the surrounding landscape.

A restrained material palette of local stone, earth-toned plaster and timber gives continuity across the interiors and exterior spaces. The curved walls and arched openings are paired with timber-lathed ceilings, creating a consistent architectural language that moves between enclosed and open areas.

Large openings and shaded terraces extend the main guest areas outward, allowing the architecture to frame the expansive views while providing protection from the elements. The pool terrace and lower firepit continue this approach, creating distinct outdoor spaces that remain closely connected to the main building and the landscape beyond.

🏛: andBeyond Suyian
📍: Suyian Conservancy, Kenya
🏗: andBeyond
📐: NPA Architects in collaboration with Michaelis Boyd | Architecture & Interiors
🛋: Fox Browne Creative
👷: Continental Consultants LLP
📸: Dook Clunies-ross

UBUNTU LODGE

Designed around a series of stone walls that extend into the surrounding landscape, defining the main spaces of the lodge and creating a sequence of courtyards and open areas.

Set within a tamboti forest, the architecture responds directly to its context through a combination of locally appropriate materials and carefully considered openings. Timber screens provide privacy while allowing filtered views and natural light into the spaces, while extensive glazing and covered decks strengthen the connection between the interior and the surrounding bush.

The stone walls provide a strong architectural structure, contrasted with timber ceilings, decks and screens that bring warmth to the spaces. Throughout the lodge, the design uses changes in level, courtyards and open-plan spaces to create a gradual transition between enclosed and outdoor areas.

🏛: Ubuntu Lodge
📍: Elephant Point Private Reserve, Kruger National Park, South Africa
🏗: Elephant Point
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Reflecting Africa Interior Design
📸: Elsa

MORUKURU FARM HOUSE

Set within the bushveld of Madikwe Game Reserve, the suites are arranged as individual spaces connected to the main house by covered walkways. Large glazed openings and sliding doors open the bedrooms directly onto timber decks, creating a strong connection between the enclosed spaces and the surrounding bush.

Timber structures, plastered masonry and glass form a simple material palette, while deep verandahs provide shade and help manage light and ventilation. The outdoor showers and baths extend the bathrooms onto the decks, making the landscape part of the everyday experience.

The design responds to the setting through a low-profile form, covered circulation and a close relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing the suites to open directly onto the landscape.

🏛: Morukuru Farm House
📍: Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
🏗: Morukuru Family Madikwe | Relais & Chateaux
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Huis van Middenmeer
📸: Dook Clunies-ross

SIRAI HOUSE

Set on a ridge at the foot of Mount Kenya, Sirai House sets the stage for harmonious dialogue between the building and its expansive landscape. Solid stone volumes are balanced with open living spaces, large glazed openings, and timber structures, creating an experience where views, natural light, and airflow become integral elements.

The material palette draws heavily from the local setting, featuring hand-cut stone, timber, and thatch throughout. Heavy timber elements and exposed roof structures infuse warmth and texture into the stone, while large openings framed by timber extend the living spaces towards the surrounding landscape. Built by Kenyan craftsmen using locally sourced materials, the house reinforces its connection to place and craft.

The result is a contemporary interpretation of a bush home that remains grounded in its environment, using material, proportion, and openness to connect the interiors with the landscape.

🏛: Sirai House
📍: Borana Conservancy, Kenya
🏗: SIRAI HOUSE
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Fox Browne Creative
📸: Dook Clunies-ross

MOMBO CAMP

Elevated above the floodplains of the Okavango Delta, the suites are designed as a sequence of interleading spaces, with raised timber walkways that create a continuous journey through the surrounding landscape. Generous decks, screened openings and carefully framed views draw the Delta into the experience of each room.

Timber and canvas form the foundation of the design, chosen for their suitability to the remote setting and sensitivity of the environment. Suspended timber floors, double-layered roofs and natural ventilation support passive cooling, while the restrained material palette allows the architecture to sit quietly in the surrounding landscape.

The original camp was rebuilt in 2017, retaining the character and history of its predecessor while introducing a more considered approach to environmental impact. The new suites were designed to feel immersed in the landscape, rather than separate from it.

🏛: Mombo Camp
📍: Okavango Delta, Botswana
🏗: Wilderness
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Câline Williams-Wynn
📸: David Crookes And Nicola Jackson

XARANNA OKAVANGO DELTA CAMP

The tented suites at Xaranna Okavango Delta Camp are designed to maximise their connection to the surrounding Delta while providing privacy and comfort. Positioned along the edge of a permanent lagoon, each suite opens onto a private deck with a plunge pool and covered sala, extending the living spaces into the landscape.

A palette of canvas, bleached timber and natural fibres defines the interiors, creating light, open spaces that reflect the colours and textures of the Okavango. Full-height glazing, generous openings and covered outdoor areas allow natural light and views to shape the experience of each suite, while indoor and outdoor bathrooms further strengthen the relationship between the built environment and its setting.

By combining lightweight construction with a carefully considered material palette, the suites demonstrate how contemporary safari design can respond to the unique conditions of the Delta while maintaining a strong connection to place.

🏛: andBeyond Xaranna Okavango Delta Camp
📍: Okavango Delta, Botswanna
🏗: andBeyond
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Fox Browne Creative
📸: Dook Clunies-ross

SERENGETI UNDER CANVAS

Designed to move with one of the world’s greatest wildlife spectacles, Serengeti Under Canvas is a mobile camp that relocates throughout the year to follow the Great Migration. By dismantling and rebuilding at carefully selected private campsites, the camp remains positioned close to the seasonal movement of wildebeest and zebra while maintaining a minimal physical footprint on the landscape.

The lightweight canvas structures, modular furnishings and transportable infrastructure are fundamental to the camp’s design, allowing it to be efficiently relocated without compromising functionality. Spacious guest tents, open-sided communal areas and a restrained palette of canvas, timber and natural fibres create adaptable spaces that respond to the changing conditions of each site.

Rather than being tied to a permanent location, the camp demonstrates how temporary architecture can be designed for adaptability, allowing the built environment to respond directly to the seasonal movement of the migration.

🏛: andBeyond Serengeti Under Canvas
📍: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
🏗: andBeyond
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Fox Browne Creative
📸: Dook Clunies-ross

DWYKA TENTED LODGE

The design of Dwyka Tented Lodge responds directly to the surrounding Karoo landscape, with each tent carefully positioned within the ravine to maximise privacy and views of the dramatic rock formations.

A considered palette of canvas, locally sourced stone and timber grounds the lodge within its setting, while exposed structural elements and natural finishes reinforce a simple, honest approach to materiality. Large glazed openings, generous decks and seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces strengthen the connection between the built environment and the landscape.

By combining locally sourced materials with a considered architectural response, the lodge sits naturally within the landscape while maintaining a distinct contemporary identity.

🏛: Dwyka Tented Lodge
📍: Montagu, Western Cape
🏗: Sanbona Wildlife Reserve
📐: NPA Architects
📸: marc & debby • 🇳🇱🇲🇽 • travel couple

LITTLE MOMBO CAMP

The design of Little Mombo is guided by a simple idea, to keep the Okavango Delta at the centre of every experience.

Expansive openings, generous timber decks and private outdoor living areas dissolve the boundary between inside and out, while warm natural materials and a restrained palette allow the surrounding landscape to remain the focal point. From intimate suites to shared gathering spaces nestled beneath ancient trees, every space encourages a slower way of experiencing one of Africa’s most extraordinary wilderness destinations.

The result is a camp where luxury is defined not by excess, but by space, privacy and an uninterrupted connection to place.

🏛: Little Mombo Camp
📍: Okavango Delta, Botswana
🏗: Wilderness
📐: NPA Architects
🛋: Câline Williams-Wynn
📸: David Crookes And Nicola Jackson & various

AWARDS | BISATE RESERVE & ANDBEYOND SUYIAN LODGE

We’re pleased to share that Wilderness Bisate Reserve and andBeyond Suyian have both been shortlisted in the Scape Awards of Excellence of Excellence 2026 by SCAPE Magazine in the International Build by a South African Practice category.

Set within two remarkable conservation landscapes, each project responds directly to its environment while drawing on local craft, materials and architectural traditions.

Wilderness Bisate Reserve, overlooking Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, reinterprets traditional Rwandan forms through sculptural architecture that celebrates the surrounding volcanic landscape and supports Wilderness’ conservation vision.

It has been a pleasure working alongside Câline Williams-Wynn, DeVS-SiVEST Consulting Engineers, Town And Country Construction and Fox PCQ Pty Ltd in bringing this project to life.

andBeyond Suyian, located within Kenya’s Suyian Conservancy, is shaped by the site’s ancient granite formations and designed to sit lightly within the landscape, combining contemporary architecture with local craftsmanship and an off-grid approach to hospitality.

Designed by NPA Architects in architectural collaboration with Michaelis Boyd, with interiors by Fox Browne Creative and engineering by Continental Consultants LLP, the project is the result of a shared vision between the wider design team, client and consultants.

We are grateful to our clients, collaborators and project teams whose shared vision made these projects possible, and we’re honoured to see both recognised among this year’s shortlisted works.

Congratulations to all the practices shortlisted across the category.

Bisate reserve Images: Felix Studios and Mark Woodruff
Suyian Lodge Images: Dook Clunies-ross