Lifestyle
This New Luxe Treehouse Resort in South Africa Will Actually Make Its Own Drinking Water
The elevated lodges at Baobab Luxury Safari Resort will offer stunning vistas in a forest setting—and the unique ability to create drinking water from humid air.
BY Demetrius Simms  |  March 26, 2023
2 Minute Read
facebook-iconlinkedin-iconemail-iconprinter-icon
testing

Courtesy of Mask Architects

Mask Architects wants to help you live out your treehouse fantasies and do something good for the environment at the same time.

The Italian design firm has unveiled renderings of the forthcoming Baobab Luxury Safari Resort, which it plans to build in South Africa. The resort’s conceit centers on airy, design-savvy treehouse lodges set amid the verdant South African forest. But that’s not all: These treehouses are designed to autonomously produce their own green energy and water for your stay, making the property a first of its kind. They will also distribute water to communities nearby, as part of the firm’s goal to enhance the infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing on the world’s second largest continent. Ideal for couples or families that want to reconnect with nature and wildlife, the luxe treehouses will literally offer an elevated vacation experience with a decidedly eco-conscious ethos.

Mask Architects' Baobab luxury safari resort lodge interior views
Rendering views of the private lodge accommodations at Baobab Luxury Safari Resort. Courtesy of Mask Architects

Inspired by the prehistoric Baobab tree, the cone-shaped lodges appear to be floating mid-air, raised just 3.5 meters (about 11 and half feet) above ground. The condensation area, or base of the shelters, is where you’ll enter the space. Taking a curved staircase one floor up, you’ll enter a living area anchored in natural beachwood furnishings and surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that drench the space in sunlight. The primary bedroom and a balcony are on this level as well, offering lush landscape views. Two levels up, you’ll find a sundeck surrounded by your own private panoramic pool. 

Of course, the tech is the real star here. Each treehouse is fitted with Mask Architects’ “air to water technology” system, which is powered by a transparent solar device that can produce water by extracting moisture from humid air. This is facilitated by air filters that are built into wood-covered aluminum lattice poles that surround the treehouse facades. Air and humidity passing through these filters is then condensed and processed through an additional multi-step filtration system in a room below ground. 

Mask Architects' Baobab luxury safari resort lodge aerial view
An overhead view of the cone-shaped structure featuring a balcony, sundeck and pool.Courtesy of Mask Architects

The water-producing system will not only hydrate your stay but also help serve those in Africa who struggle to access water. When enough purified water is collected over time, it will be delivered to local communities via a distribution network, according Mask Architects.

“With this project, our goal is to make the most basic need of water accessible rather than a luxury experience, and to prevent hunger, thirst and the diseases and deaths its causes,” the firm writes its website. That’s a goal everyone can get behind.