Location:
Musanze, Rwanda
Architecture: DMJ Architects
Bishop’s House is a small lodge for visitors to Volcanoes National Park, known for its mountain gorillas. Located in the residential area of Ruhengeri, the property is surrounded by large neighbouring houses and rooftops. The landscape design turns inward, creating a sequence of enclosed courtyards and planted spaces that offer privacy and a closer connection to Rwanda’s highland vegetation.
The garden brings together a central swimming pool, private guest courtyards, a vegetable garden and a reworked entrance. The kidney-shaped pool was designed in relation to the surrounding terraces, planting and circulation, drawing on Thomas Church’s approach to the relationship between a pool and the spaces around it. Generous steps lead towards the restaurant, with Polyscias fulva, an indigenous pioneer tree, providing filtered shade.
Local volcanic stone defines the hardscape, its varied finishes bringing texture to the garden. Given the high altitude and heavy rainfall, the paving uses permeable build-ups that allow water to drain naturally. The porous stone also provides a surface for mosses and small plants to establish themselves.
The planting combines indigenous pioneer trees associated with the forests of Volcanoes National Park with banana plants inspired by the cultivated hills around Ruhengeri. While the trees provide a long-term green screen around the lodge, bananas create an immediate sense of enclosure. Their broad leaves and developing fruit bring the experience of Rwanda’s productive landscape into the garden.
Through volcanic stone, dense planting and enclosed outdoor rooms, Bishop’s House balances the privacy of a lodge with a tangible connection to the surrounding highland landscape.
