The Masai Mara Conservation Centre is a located in a wilderness area in Kenya, characterised by undulating grassland and a prominent rocky escarpment. The location for the building is adjacent to the existing Oloololo Gate, a primary entry point into the national park.

Our proposal was to embed the building into the slope, so that it is largely invisible at a distance, and to encourage the landscape to subsume the structures.

The buildings draw inspiration from the outcrops of boulders and trees that are a distinctive element of the landscape in the region. The building complex is intended to feel ancient, like a collection of ruins swallowed by the landscape.

The curved forms are a contemporary interpretation of Maasai villages, characterised by clusters of rounded, organic buildings arranged to create courtyard spaces.

The project was run as a design competition facilitated by Abercrombie and Kent Philanthropy and the Royal Institute of British Architects. Our entry was selected as one of four finalists out of a field of more than 100 entries from more than 30 countries.