“The idea of the landscape design is to create a forest feeling of refuge, inspired by the forests of the volcano. An inwardly-driven concept with all views looking through the repetition of trees to the open ‘glade’ of the pool area; a safe haven of relaxation.”
Bishop’s House is a boutique hotel in Ruhengeneri that caters to guests seeking to track Gorillas in the nearby Volcanoes National Park. With a desire to bring nature and privacy into guest experience, Bishop’s House underwent an extensive renovation in 2017. For the landscape, we focused on dense planting, a curvilinear pool, and local volcanic stone pathways and walls to create intimacy and connection to the surrounding landscape.
Centrally located amidst residences, privacy informed most of the planting choices. With few nurseries existing in Rwanda, we had to turn to a palate of agricultural plants to initiate privacy planting. Fast-growing banana trees were key in creating a rapid green screen and working in textural contrast to all of the hard-scape elements in the design. This natural boundary both shields neighboring views and provides a sense of introspection for guests, turning the landscape inward as well as celebrating this wonderful crop which is so essential and key to the identity of Rwanda. A pallet of indigenous trees, which were sourced very small and are slower growing, gradually will form the remaining planted buffer.
At the edge of this planting sits a pool, loose and curvilinear in form. Inspired by Thomas Church’s Donnell Garden, we honored the traditional kidney shape for the swim area, and surrounded its edge by cut volcanic stone and lounges. This central area alludes to the study of negative space and provides a playful central space for guests to relax.
Beyond the pool area, local volcanic rock informs the entirety of pathways and walls. To create consistency and also display how unique and generous a single stone can be, we used varying cuts to flood these spaces. An additional series of walled courtyards flank new rooms, which help maintain privacy and introspection. Each of these spaces are intimate but simply designed to maximize on the extended guest experiences, as well as include local materiality to celebrate a unique geographical heritage.
Landscape Architecture: The Landscape Studio
Other designers involved in the design of landscape: DMJ Architects
Project location: Musanze, Rwanda
Year completed: 2017
Photo credits: The Landscape Studio
