Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge
Those who want to stand eye to eye with the big animals...
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The Wilderness Bisate Reserve in Rwanda is more than just a place to stay overnight. Perched on the ridge of a wooded slope in Rwanda’s rainforest and offering a 360-degree panoramic view over the Ruhengeri area of Volcanoes National Park, the lodge is one of the most exclusive destinations in the region. Designed in harmony with the surrounding natural environment, built using natural materials and tailored for sustainable tourism, it was honoured with the Architectural Digest Great Design Hotel Award 2025 for its exceptional design. And as the use of various MOSO® bamboo products demonstrates, this project also serves as a guide to how luxury design can be achieved using sustainable bamboo materials from MOSO® Bamboo – even in regions with challenging climatic conditions.
Thatched roofs, wickerwork, wood and bamboo. These materials are central to the Wilderness Bisate Reserve. Completely surrounded by rainforest, with views across the six dormant volcanoes of Volcanoes National Park and in close proximity to mountain gorillas, architects Nicholas Plewman and Black Sable Architects, together with Artichoke Interior Design Studio have created a luxurious retreat for discerning yet environmentally conscious travellers who seek a combination of sustainability and aesthetic appeal.
The entire reserve comprises two areas. There are four lodges, each with an en-suite bathroom, a spacious living area, a viewing platform and a private hot tub, as well as a fitness and wellness area featuring a spa and exercise facilities. Thanks to its prime location, the resort is the ideal base for exploring the national park and for private guided tours to observe mountain gorillas. The fusion of nature and luxury is evident throughout.
In order to realise this project, the architects set high standards for the building materials. The aim was to find durable, sustainable materials that would withstand the harsh climatic conditions of the Rwandan rainforest over the long term, without the architects having to compromise on aesthetics, their design ambitions or the sustainability of the project.
The flooring and decking, both indoors, on the viewing platforms and outdoor terraces, play a particularly important role in this regard. Firstly, they must be exceptionally hard-wearing, as people are coming and going every day, sometimes in walking boots, sometimes barefoot. At the same time, they must always convey a sense of well-being, closeness to nature and luxury.
Furthermore, flooring plays a key role in shaping the ambience of a room through their colour, texture and feel. The architects in charge have therefore opted for decking boards and indoor flooring from the bamboo specialist MOSO® Bamboo.
“We have a long-standing working relationship with the architects in charge, based on confidence in the performance of our products,” said Antuanette Mac Wyne, MOSO® Africa. „They know that MOSO® bamboo products consistently outperform conventional wooden floorboards, both indoors and outdoors. That is why they use our bamboo flooring for their most demanding projects.“ Both, the living areas and the spa and fitness areas of the resort have been fitted with bamboo flooring.
MOSO® Bamboo, market leader in sustainable bamboo building materials, manufactures its products from Moso bamboo, the world’s fastest-growing plant. Thanks to thermal treatment at 200 degrees Celsius and subsequent high-density compression of the bamboo strips during manufacture, the decking boards are extremely stable, robust and durable. Proven to be more resilient than tropical timber, waterproof and backed by a minimum 25-year guarantee. Unlike other materials intended for outdoor use, the decking boards do not need to be treated with fungicides or other chemical substances and can withstand the climatic conditions of the rainforest without any further treatment. MOSO® Bamboo has demonstrated this resilience in tests. Thanks to its specialised production method, the manufacturer achieves the highest durability class and even meet fire class Bfl according to EN13501-1 for flooring and B-s1-d0 for cladding and ceiling.
At the resort in Rwanda, a range of products were installed: MOSO® Bamboo N-durance decking boards in a warm caramel shade for the lodges’ outdoor terraces; MOSO® Bamboo X-treme decking boards in a dark brown for the spa area; and the particularly hard-wearing ‘Ultra Density’ variant for the gym and fitness area. A total of around 1,100 square metres were installed.
Bamboo has a very low carbon footprint and stores large amounts of carbon. Another particular advantage is its exceptionally high annual yield. Certain species of giant bamboo can produce two to three times as much material per hectare per year as fast-growing timber. This takes additional pressure off forests and fossil resources. Through specialised processing, such as that developed by MOSO® Bamboo, bamboo is transformed into a building material that is more durable than tropical timber, more sustainable than other materials, and has the potential to be the building material of the future.
Worldwide there are numerous examples of projects with bamboo. We would like to present to you a number of recently completed projects:
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Are you thinking about bamboo and need help finding out which product suits you best? Do not hesitate to contact our MOSO® Bamboo experts.
Andy Paige
Managing Director Moso Africa
