Michaelis Boyd’s North Kenyan safari Lodge for andBeyond

Posted in Projects on 9 August, 2025

Where architecture meets wilderness. Words by Andrew Wakem.

Set against the dramatic backdrop of northern Kenya’s Laikipia plateau, the newly unveiled andBeyond Suyian Lodge is a striking addition to the region’s rich safari heritage.

Nestled within the Suyian Conservancy, north of Mount Kenya, the lodge occupies a unique position on an escarpment with panoramic views of the ancient Suyian rock sanctuary and sweeping vistas to the south toward Mount Kenya. This exceptional setting has informed every aspect of the lodge’s design and placement, with the terrain itself dictating the architectural response.

andBeyond Suyian Lodge is set against the dramatic backdrop of northern Kenya’s Laikipia plateau.

andBeyond’s ‘Suyian Lodge’ is the result of a collaborative vision between leading architectural and design practices. Michaelis Boyd, appointed in September 2022 following their celebrated work across Kenya, led the design alongside Nicholas Plewman Architects. The Afro-Wabi-Sabi interior vision was shaped by Fox Brown Creative, while the landscape was sensitively crafted by Tufaha Africa.

Construction began in March 2024 and, after 16 months of building in one of Africa’s most remote and ecologically sensitive environments, the lodge is now open.

andBeyond’s ‘Suyian Lodge’ is the result of a collaborative vision between leading architectural and design practices Michaelis Boyd, Nicholas Plewman Architects, Fox Brown Creative and Tufaha Africa.

This project marks a continued partnership between andBeyond and Michaelis Boyd, following successful collaborations at Sandibe and Kichwa Tembo in Kenya, and Benguerra Lodge in Mozambique. The brief for Suyian called for a destination that celebrated the wild spirit of Laikipia while treading lightly on the land. One of the area’s most distinctive natural features is its population of elusive black leopards, rarely seen elsewhere, making Suyian a site of both ecological and experiential significance.

Guests arriving at the lodge are welcomed into a main building that serves as both a hub and a sanctuary. This includes a bar, restaurant, lounge, outdoor terrace, boutique, and a map room.

A unique feature is the Black Leopard Room—an editing suite where guests can review and process their photography, a nod to the site’s extraordinary wildlife encounters. A short walk away, the pool area offers expansive views and restful indulgence, complete with a pool bar, daybeds, and a cooling deck.

Wellness is thoughtfully integrated, with a separate wellness centre housing two treatment rooms, a sauna, a cold plunge, and a yoga and gymnasium space.

Bathrooms offer expansive views, deep stone bathtubs and circular skylit showers.

Fourteen standalone one bedroom villas and a larger two bedroom villa are dotted discreetly across the escarpment, each strategically oriented to capture the sunrise and maximize privacy.

The villas feature domed ceilings in their living and bedroom spaces—an architectural homage to the forms of the surrounding rock sanctuary—while the bathrooms offer expansive views, deep stone bathtubs, circular skylit showers, and even a “loo with a view.”

The ceilings between the domes are vaulted to continue the curved language of the architecture. Each villa also boasts a private plunge pool, a terrace, indoor and outdoor living spaces, and a fully stocked bar and coffee station.

Materials were selected with a deep respect for place and climate. Locally sourced stone cladding reduces emissions and echoes the rocky topography.

Sustainability lies at the heart of Suyian. The lodge is entirely off-grid, powered by solar energy, with water sourced from boreholes, and waste water through onsite filtration and reuse systems. Food waste is composted, and the surrounding landscape has been rewilded with indigenous planting. Green roofs not only insulate but also help the lodge visually recede into the escarpment, continuing the architects’ ambition to embed the building within its natural environment.

Materials were selected with a deep respect for place and climate. Locally sourced stone cladding reduces emissions and echoes the rocky topography. External domes are rendered with earth taken directly from the site, blending seamlessly with the surrounding geology. Interiors are finished in lime plaster, polished concrete, and timber—used extensively in wellness areas. All of the doors and shutters are made of Crittall to follow the delicacy of the design.

Ceilings in the main areas feature timber lathes, continuing fluidly to the outdoor pergolas and shaded terraces. The architecture draws on a language of arches and circular forms, expressing a harmonious rhythm that balances protection and openness.

The masterplan accounts for wildlife movement and proximity, encircling the lodge with a low-impact elephant fence to protect the structures while allowing other animals—giraffes, lions, zebras, leopards, and elephants—to wander freely up to its edges. The architecture’s relationship with the land is not only aesthetic but also ecological, with careful siting and construction practices minimizing visual and environmental impact.

andBeyond Suyian Lodge is within the Suyian Conservancy, a spectacular and critical unfenced wildlife habitat.

The Suyian Conservancy
Suyian Conservancy was created and overseen by the international conservation NGO Space for Giants. It is a spectacular and critical unfenced wildlife habitat that is part of the wider Laikipia-Ewaso ecosystem, which holds the highest diversity of large mammal species of any ecosystem of its size in the world. Suyian has been managed for decades as a working cattle ranch and as a sanctuary for wildlife, as well as providing critical support for local communities.

It is home to 55 mammal species, including elephants, wild dogs, reticulate giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, gerenuk, lion, leopard, cheetah and over 260 bird species. The conservancy forms part of a critical wildlife movement corridor between Laikipia and the northern conservancies, allowing elephants and other species to move with the rains. Suyian forms part of over 200,000 acres of privately managed land with conservation as the primary aim.

Space for Giants
Space for Giants is an international conservation organisation based in Africa and founded in 2011.

Their mission is to protect the natural ecosystems on which Africa’s large wild animals depend, ensuring they are valued by local people.

They currently work in 11 countries across Central, East and Southern Africa, focussing on some of the most pressing challenges facing the conservation of megafauna today. They’re headquartered in Kenya and are registered as a charity in the UK and a non-profit, 501c3 in the USA.