Black Sable Sparks an Immersive Dialogue Between Architecture and Nature with the Design of Melote Lodge

Gradually unveiling itself, Melote Lodge cascades down a slope through winding paths on the majestic Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, creating an arrival that is an experience in and of itself. Part of Lepogo Lodges, the location envelops its guests in the boundless untamed landscape and offers a luxurious African hospitality experience, establishing a clear hierarchy where nature reigns.

Melote blends into the landscape and draws inspiration from a canyon — submerged passages remove the view to enhance it as guests enter the suites and main area. Bold forms that are both sculptural and contextual fuse luxury and sensitivity through a carbon-neutral approach. The design incorporates local materials, energy-efficient design, and environmental consciousness, thus using hospitality and exclusivity to protect the ecology and integrity of its setting. Fully off-grid, it transforms itself into a sustainable and luxurious wilderness experience. Automated systems for lighting, water treatment, and cooling manage the lodge and seamlessly integrate ecological conservation with a luxury experience in the African Bush

“The location envelops its guests in the boundless untamed landscape and offers a luxurious African hospitality experience, establishing a clear hierarchy where nature reigns.”

Lapalala luxury
The client’s vision was to construct a 16-bed off-grid luxury safari lodge in the Lapalala Wilderness. The lodge, made for exclusive use, includes the main Melote House, a buried, rammed earth form that cascades down the hillside in three distinct tiers with the main public area at the base of the hill, a second level of interleading identical suites, and the main suite at the top, overlooking the other two tiers. The Family Villa, distinct from the three main tiers, continues the same design language as the main lodge. Separate from this are the reception, spa, clifftop pool, and open-air but closable gym. The lodge also houses staff accommodation for 14 people, battery storage units, and a PV solar farm.

Bringing it back to nature
The buried structures reincorporate the soil of the site through their rammed earth walls and planted roofs, recreating the sediments of the landscape and the diverse flora that caps it. Through the attentive care of Gordon Kershaw’s landscaping, the design returns the building to nature.

The spa and reception are flowing, sculptural, and experiential buildings — organic forms that slot into the existing bush and flow around rock formations and protected trees. An extensive explorative process transforms these buildings into bespoke, individualised experiences. The open-air gym, a lightweight platform suspended in the trees, turns everyday recreation into an activity connected with the nature of the wilderness and highlights the contrast to the subterranean spaces of the main house.

A Dark Sky sanctuary
Nestled in stone at the pinnacle of the site, the clifftop pool offers uninterrupted sunset views of the wilderness. Since manmade structures were not permitted to be visible from anywhere on the reserve, great care was taken to contextualise the design. The silhouette had to blend perfectly into the landscape to prevent any sightings from afar both during the day and night, in this Dark Sky Reserve. To retain the darkness of the locale, all light sources were also removed.

The lodge combines ecological sensitivity with luxury and experience. The design reworks a standard skylight in the main area into one filled with water, creating a drinking pond for Lapalala’s wildlife. A planted roof regulates indoor temperatures under the intense African sun, while careful consideration of light pollution enables the creation of a sky bed in the master suite that offers open-air, uninterrupted views of the night sky.

Melote Lodge is an immersive dialogue between architecture and nature, where luxury is measured not by excess, but by harmony with the land. Every detail, from its subterranean structures to its celestial views, embodies a deep respect for the wilderness, proving that exclusivity and ecological responsibility can not only coexist, but thrive side by side.

“In loving memory of Mike Buyskes, founder and chairperson of Mike Buyskes Construction. Without your guidance, knowledge, and kindness, this project would not have reached its lofty heights. May the ocean’s waves carry you on.” – Jacobus Uys

This article is an extract from our February issue. Read the full issue here.