MOUNT SUSWA VISITOR CENTER
Suswa, Kenya
2025 Advanced Design Studio
Yale School of Architecture
More than a place of information, this project reimagines
the Visitor Center as a transitional space of embodied experience where
immersion, orientation, and dialogue are heightened in the rural landscape of
Mount Suswa. This experiential journey invites visitors to slow down, sharpen
their senses, and attune to the often-overlooked details lost in the
vastness of the land.
Arrival is imagined as a gradual, sensory immersion rather than a visual
spectacle. Visitors move through a shadowed corridor of dry-stacked volcanic
stones into a courtyard garden, feeling through texture, temperature, and
earthy scent. The oval form was created to preserve and build around existing trees, and to cultivate a nurturing, cave-like microclimate that supports lichen and
sensitive native vegetation for earthy scent in the courtyard. A gently spiraling ramp then leads
visitors to lookouts aligned with key landmarks such as the Baboon Parliament
Cave and Mount Suswa, offering a moment to sit, orient and appreciate the
surroundings.
The ramp culminates in a room furnished with flexible
lightweight, foldable chairs that can accommodate 8 to 22 guests for
conversation, reflection, and attentive gathering.
After a session of dialogue
and sensory fragments, visitors exit via an exterior staircase, carrying a
heightened awareness for the landscape ahead.
MOUNT SUSWA VISITOR CENTER
Suswa, Kenya
2025 Advanced Design Studio
Yale School of Architecture
More than a place of information, this project reimagines the Visitor Center as a transitional space of embodied experience where immersion, orientation, and dialogue are heightened in the rural landscape of Mount Suswa. This experiential journey invites visitors to slow down, sharpen their senses, and attune to the often-overlooked details lost in the vastness of the land.
Arrival is imagined as a gradual, sensory immersion rather than a visual spectacle. Visitors move through a shadowed corridor of dry-stacked volcanic stones into a courtyard garden, feeling through texture, temperature, and earthy scent. The oval form was created to preserve and build around existing trees, and to cultivate a nurturing, cave-like microclimate that supports lichen and sensitive native vegetation for earthy scent in the courtyard. A gently spiraling ramp then leads visitors to lookouts aligned with key landmarks such as the Baboon Parliament Cave and Mount Suswa, offering a moment to sit, orient and appreciate the surroundings.
The ramp culminates in a room furnished with flexible lightweight, foldable chairs that can accommodate 8 to 22 guests for conversation, reflection, and attentive gathering. After a session of dialogue and sensory fragments, visitors exit via an exterior staircase, carrying a heightened awareness for the landscape ahead.