Silvan Safari Lodge is situated in the Sabie Sand Game Reserve, part of the greater Kruger National Park. The selected site is on the banks of the perennial Manyeleti River, which dictates the basic placement of the buildings in taking advantage of views of the river related wildlife. The Main Building is central on the junction of the Manyeleti and Simba River, which is bridged to gain access to three of the six Suites.
Being a luxury destination, the client's brief emphasized the requirement for privacy and spaciousness. As a result, the building scale is almost in tension with the tree canopies with the buildings not competing with the massive trees, but certainly letting them know they are there. The architecture does not attempt to relate to what can be considered the typical 'organic lodge architecture' of the area. The rigid box forms seem foreign in the environment, but in that you properly notice them. And in turn, they emphasize the presence and scale of the trees and natural environment as set against backdrops of the stark building geometries.
Use of materials is limited — dark stained wooden walls for living areas which partially disappear in the shadows of the bush and pale grey painted masonry walls for the service components.
With the climate being conducive to outdoor living, the thresholds between inside and outside are undefined, having large sliding doors which are hidden in cavities when open. This spacial ambiguity is further emphasised by furnished outside Reception and Courtyard areas.
Award of Merit Jury Comments:
SUSTAINABILITY/ECOLOGY:
The Silvan Lodge needs to be commended for its contribution to high craft, innovation, and exceptionally engaging spaces, truly an architectural achievement of Safari Minimalism.
The complex consists of sympathetically positioned pavilions in the landscape connected by free-flowing spaces achieved by a simple linear deck. The flow of spaces is reminiscent of the Barcelona Pavilion or the likes. As these Modernist icons, the sequence of indoor/outdoor spaces and flows are intriguing, generous and engaging, sensitively taking cues from majestic trees that become orientation devices throughout the building.
The unique concept of black-stained boxes in the natural landscape demonstrated a new way of considering the relationship between the Bushveld landscape and architecture. From a distance, the minimalist dark forms appear as mere shadows between the trees, and upon closer inspection, natural elements such as white stone walls and sculptural trees are put on display against the dark backdrop.
The building incorporated some sustainable technologies without compromising the comfort of their high-end clientele.
The buildings are sensitively placed between the trees along the Manyeleti River, framing spectacular vistas towards the river bend.
The entire complex of buildings were meticulously detailed with intricate material connections,achieving high-end, luxurious architecture without gratuitous spending. Novel applications of dark creosote wood wall-cladding and glass breaks the mold of the traditional safari lodge tectonics.
HUMANE:
The interior leisure spaces and the useable/comfortable outdoor stained deck areas are carefully integrated with seamless flows between inside and outside.
INCLUSIVITY:
The linearity, layering of spaces and orientation of the building contributes to cool, ventilated ‘outdoor rooms’ where human comfort and a sense of place are achieved through engaging all the senses.
