The Nest Off-grid Organic Lodge in Namibia by Porky Hefer

We guarantee Porky Hefer’s collection of holiday dwellings dubbed The Nest is unlike any isolated hideaway you have seen before, and are almost certain that after seeing their peculiar forms you most definitely will want to stay in one!

The collection of organic, sinuous forms sits together in the Namib Tsaris Conservancy in a remote valley of the Namib Desert in Southern Africa. Along with their unconventional, labyrinth-like structure, there is also a pool, helipad, movie theatre, local chef and butler on hand to help make your stay as comfortable as possible. If that wasn’t enough to convince you maybe the beautiful freely roaming native animals will?

This holiday escape fuses together luxury with completely off-grid, vernacular architecture bringing it straight to the top of our post-Covid travel list!

To say the origins of this African escape were ambitious would be a large understatement. Hefer, a South African designer, made famous by his pod-like handmade furniture pieces, had never before designed a house. Adding to the list of challenges is the extreme isolation of the site, that could only be reached via dirt road – the last 28km of which requiring a 4×4 vehicle or a tractor. Not exactly the ideal place for complex construction to occur! However, despite these hindrances and the odd occasion when baboons dismantled any structural progress, the ‘Nests’ came to life.

The ‘Nests’ seamlessly blend in with the surrounding environment, their textured thatched outer skin appearing to grow directly out of the rocky mountains behind them. A skeleton of hand-bent steel frames and stone walls support thatched inner and outer walls.

Sustainably harvested reeds create a warm, welcoming interior that cocoons around occupants, the experience of which can only be likened to the inside of a cave. Only cold stone has been replaced with custom inbuilt leather furniture and sun-soaked bedrooms.

The maze-like structure of the dwellings is inspired by the nests of local sociable weaver birds, their efficient planning techniques mirrored in the layout of spaces. Shared, communal living areas are oversized and raised off the ground, allowing cool breezes to maintain comfortable temperatures during hot days. Bedrooms are smaller in size and are designed to retain heat for cooler nights.

The whole project was built in collaboration with local artisans with materials in line with the traditional style of the area. The ¾ bedroom villas are totally off-grid with their individual water supply and complex solar and battery power unit – proving luxury and environmentally responsible systems can absolutely co-exist in the design world.

Porky Hefer’s off-grid, organic lodge in Namibia fuses hand-made, vernacular architecture with the latest sustainable technologies to create incredibly unique spatial experiences. We applaud their ability to create a completely immersive cultural experience in the world of tourism.