The Kisawa Sanctuary project is due to celebrate the culture, the community and the environment of Mozambique, searching for a bond with culture and nature
Kisawa Sanctuary in Mozambico
An island is the last place where one could imagine technology. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean, home of an ecosystem, Beguerra Island is also the location of the first resort with building parts printed in 3D: Kisawa Sanctuary.
Beguerra Island is fourteen kilometers off Mozambique, on the eastern coasts of Africa. The Beguerra Island is the second largest island in the Bazaruto Archipelago, a group of six islands in Mozambique, near the coastal city of Vilankulo. Since 1971, it is a National Park and currently also a WWF National Marine Park, home of the richest and unexplored subtropical ecosystems in the Indian Ocean. Surrounded by high sand dunes, the area hosts more than one-hundred-and-forty-five bird species, orca, manta rays, dugong, whale, sharks, marlin and dolphins.
Thanks to its warm and crystal clear waters, the island is a nursery for whales and is the home of five species of turtles. This area is the place where the founder Nina Flohr decided to establish the Kisawa Sanctuary. Her project is due to celebrate the culture, the community and the environment of Mozambique, searching for a profound bond with culture and nature.
Kisawa’s bungalows
The resort features twelve beachfront bungalows. They are divided into one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and the Kisawa Residence. The buildings are realized through a special element created from the island’s own sand and saltwater. The sand-based material is used in two different ways. It is, in fact, utilized across various building elements, to create a tactile finish. The same conglomerate is also a base material for a patented 3D sand-printing technology. The mortar is therefore printed into individually specified construction elements, from masonry to flooring and tiling. In addition to this, the creation of objects and interior design include the 3D printer.
It is the first place where construction involved the use of 3D technology. Its own acre-plot hosts all of the bungalows, offering minimum disturbance and maximum appreciation of the natural environment. The bungalow from the outside suggests the shape of a traditional hut, with the straw roof and a rounded shape. But at the same time a shape that reminds a sci-fi movie. Two buildings characterize the single bungalows. The bigger one with the rooms and the little one as a day area, for dinner and relaxation. All the bungalows feature open-air space, outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower and infinity pool.
Natural Wellness Center
Further, the resort features a standalone spa, the Natural Wellness Center, specialized in traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic offerings. Traditional Mozambican dwellings inspire its design. The spa offers a range of treatments including massages and detox retreats.
Next to it, the Kisawa gym is located, fully equipped and air-conditioned. Within the gym, there are the yoga and pilates corners and the twenty-five-meter long Lagoon Pool, an organic swimming pool surrounded by dunes, perfect for swim lengths or relaxation after a day of activities. All the services allow the guests to feel looked after in a relaxed and accurate way.
The Bazuro Center for Scientific Studies’s 3D technology
The founder Nina Flohr worked to limit the resort’s impact on the surrounding environment also with the help of her sister’s no-profit project: The Bazuro Center for Scientific Studies. The Center is at the opposite end of the island. It’s an innovative platform hosting the first permanent ocean observatory, focused on multi-ecosystem research in Africa.
The center also uses the 3D printers in the Sanctuary for buildings and furniture to print sand coral reefs and marine habitats. Seen as an antagonist of nature, these days the technology is becoming more and more a precious ally. Used to reproduce marine habitats or sustainable buildings, the 3D technology is also becoming a new essential part for research and architecture of the future.
Kisawa Sanctuary
Benguerra Island Inhambane, 1304, Mozambique
Kisawa Sanctuary is the first resort with building parts printed in 3D. Its location, Beguerra Island, is fourteen kilometers off Mozambique, on the eastern coasts of Africa.
