Zambezi Rivershore
The work of our architects on the Zambezi Rivershore
In their new project in Zambia, Pujo Architects & Designers are exploring how contemporary materials, unique design expression, and inspiration from traditional motifs can create a new architectural tale.
Tekst: Milja Mladenović
The vibrant landscape of the Zambezi River and its surroundings inspired Pujo Architects and Designers to create a distinctive contemporary architecture that integrates modern materials into the natural environment while allowing for complete enjoyment of the intact riverside setting.
By combining the luxurious holiday space design of villas embodied in pools and glass facades oriented towards the river, with environmental characteristics that influenced the unique treatment of the roof, a new design expression was created. It is a style which is simultaneously atypical for the region and emerged as a result of playing with its characteristic influences.
Shaping architecture around the views while also protecting the building from the heat and strong sun typical of the Zambezi coast allowed for framing distinct views of the river by using the overhang of the concrete roof that descends towards the ground like a billowing wing of a tent frozen in time. Through this frame, a specially shaped view of the landscape was achieved, and careful design motifs created a shade that protects the airy interior from the heat.
By sculpting interior spaces to create organic environments inspired by nature, geometric motifs from traditional textile art have become part of the „weaving“ of layers on the walls, serving as carriers in introducing the region’s identity into contemporary architecture.
Placing a circular relief as the focal point of the room led to the fusion of nature and geometry which was designed down to the details, continuing the interplay of organic and artificial elements to a degree where their boundaries dissolve, and the newly designed villas become a carefully crafted interpretation of the way of life in the Zambezi region.
While designing in the contexts of the Northern Hemisphere or the Mediterranean allows for different ways of opening buildings towards the sun, in the climatic context of the location in Zambia, the roof covering serves as an element that prevents excessive heating of the building. Similar to the relief inspired by nature and vernacular motifs in the interior, the roof surface is perforated with openings resembling traditional textile weaving, which, besides the functional aspect of shading, also enables scenic ambiences that the sun rays create by entering the interior through the perforations.
The unurbanizedcharacter of the Zambezi River shoreline allowed architects to play with different styles and motifs, including articulating the ground and ground level. As a method of separating individual bungalows, monumental platforms were designed. They are accessed via ramps, creating a design of an almost ceremonious approach to the buildings. Simultaneously, the villas are elevated from the ground, becoming stable structures in the shoreline’s playful terrain.
Elevated on concrete platforms with pools, the villas become futuristic pieces in Zambia’s natural ambience. By utilising traditional motifs of textile art and integrating inspiration from nature into contemporary design, a modern structure has been created shaped by influences from the surroundings, especially the sunlight and the unobstructed views of the Zambezi River.
In an architectural play of combining modern architecture embodied in clear geometry with organic details from nature and creating structures that reshape the landscape of the African coastline, Pujo Architects & Designers have designedunique villas where luxury intertwines with the spirit of the place.
