SCOPE
DELIVERED
Studio + Product + People
2024
TIMELINE
Concept to handover, 14 months
LOCATION
CLIENT
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Natural Selection
THE STORY
A camp shaped
by the delta.
Tawana began, like every Studio project, with the land. We spent days on site understanding the orientation, the seasonal water, the light at dawn and dusk, and how guests would move through the camp.
From that brief we designed, fabricated and delivered a camp that sits lightly on its setting. Built off-site under controlled conditions, then assembled on the ground with minimal disturbance.
THE BRIEF
Light on the land
The client wanted a premium guest experience that read as part of the delta, not imposed on it. Minimal site disturbance, fast assembly in a short dry-season window, and architecture that framed the water and the sky.
THE SKETCH
Where each build starts.
Every Malapa build begins as a hand sketch. These drawings fix the proportions, the vision and the way each structure meets the ground, long before a single panel is fabricated.
THE BUILD
Fabricated off-site, assembled on the ground
Components were manufactured under controlled conditions before transporting and assembling on-site in weeks rather than months. Quality was checked off-site, before it ever reached the delta.
The Finished Camp
Moments from Tawana.
“
“Malapa are more than 'just' architects, designers and deliverers. They are also a thought partner - providing helpful challenge, support and solutions throughout the process. You really feel Malapa are invested in what you are trying to achieve, even once their formal role is completed, and are not just there to do a job.”
DOUG FLYNN · CEO, GORONGOSA SAFARIS