Bisate Sanctuary

Bisate Sanctuary — IADA 2026 award

Bisate Sanctuary received Platinum Winner recognition at the International Architecture & Design Awards 2026 in Sports, Recreation & Wellness Facilities. Project status, design team and credits are listed alongside the presentation.

About the project

To create a high end luxury Wellness Experience for the ever-busy and disconnected guest. The intensity of modern life removes us from nature and disconnects us from the self. Bisate Sanctuary was tasked with remedying that and creating a journey in which guests reconnect with nature and with their ancient selves, while paying respect to the existing cultural and natural landscape.

Programmatically, the Sanctuary joins two separate but interleading Wellness Journeys. These being the gym and the Spa wings of the design. Each required different experiential and operational approaches.

The Gym wing consists of a Gym, Change Rooms and the Hydrotherapy components. The focus here being connection with nature and with the body. Each space highlights views to the Volcano Mount Bisoke and the surrounding vegetation of the Volcanoes National Park. The Hydrotherapy lounge space is the tallest of the Sanctuary, banked on either side by a Heated Lap pool, a sauna and a steam room. These spaces are tall, light and open to the surrounding environment.

The Spa wing consists of Treatment Rooms, Cocoons, Change Rooms and a Sanctuary/ Consultation Lounge. The focus being a connection with the self. Each space is dark and intimate, highlighting shadow, complex textures, warmth and touch. There are no views out from these spaces, inviting introspection. Guest derobe in the Change Rooms before being directed to the Sanctuary/ consultation lounge. This links to the treatment rooms, those being two single treatment rooms, one double treatment room and one wrap treatment room. These are tall, dark and quiet spaces. After guests receive their treatment, they are taken to the Cocoons, single person spaces where decompression and meditation can occur. This journey then loops back to the change rooms where guests can continue on to the gym wing.

Materially the Sanctuary employs the use of local materials ranging from locally fired clay brick masonry to woven bamboo. The remote nature of the site and logistical challenge not only made reliance on local materiality the logical solution, but also allowed these materials and artisans to be highlighted throughout the building's construction and finishing.

The siting of the Sanctuary was determined by its proximity to the existing Kwanda Lounge and views to Mount Bisoke. The site itself sits at the edge of cultivated land belonging to the local community. This meant privacy was a key driver in how the Sanctuary sits in its landscape. Local planting was used to revitalise the site post construction and provide berming and screening to respect the privacy of the guests and the local community.

The specificity of the design means that the sanctuary forgoes flexibility for a bespoke experience. The journey is curated through curving walls, materials, soundscapes, shadow, views, temperature and water to incite an intentional guest experience. It's a design created for a particular purpose and each element is designed

Black Sable Designs (Pty) Ltd

Black Sable is a Johannesburg-based architecture studio specialising in luxury safari lodges and remote hospitality projects across Africa. We work within diverse landscapes, from delta to savannah to forest, engaging deeply with place and treating nature as both context and collaborator.

We balance strong design leadership with a highly collaborative process, shaping each project through site immersion, iterative exploration and a hands-on approach. Through curvilinear forms, local materials and sustainable strategies, we craft spaces that are environmentally responsive and experientially rich.

From concept to completion, we deliver refined, narrative-driven architecture that merges technical precision with creativity. Each project is conceived as a lasting contribution to its environment, where conservation, culture and contemporary African design converge