Adjacent to an orangutan sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia, sits a bucolic hillside lodge built of local materials and offering a simple yet visually stunning exercise in geometry and depth. British architecture firm Foster Lomas, founded in 2005, erected the woodland residence and hotel for a private client and the eco-tourists they host in a village called Bukit Lawang.

The design took inspiration from “the nomadic nests that the orangutans build within the canopy of the trees each day, with lightweight accommodation boxes stepping down the sloping site, unified under a single folded roof.”

Bukit Lawang, which sits on the bank of the Bahorok River in North Sumatra, houses an orangutan rehabilitation center to address and protect the species’ dwindling population because of hunting, trading and deforestation.

Local resources are dedicated to educating visitors on the dangers the creatures face. The Lomas project was part of the region’s rebuilding efforts in the wake of a 2003 flood that destroyed much of its infrastructure.

The project was featured in the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2011.

Photo credits: Visualiser & Foster Lomas

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