The single-story traditional huts of the indigenous communities that live in and around the national park are the dominant inspiration for the building's final form. These traditional huts have a conical grass-thatched roof placed on a mud wall with a round base. Locally sourced tree logs provide structure to both the wall and the roof. Vertically oriented mats create temporary and semi-permanent subdivisions of the internal space. More contemporary versions of these huts incorporate one or more windows.

 

Sabbath Cottage reimagines the safari cottage's typology while redefining the form of these traditional huts. The significant deviation from both typologies is the creation of two levels. Many lodges have two-story buildings to hold guest rooms. But when lodges use cottages as separate, physically distanced rooms on larger parcels of land, they limit each unit to one level that contains both the living area and outdoor space. With Sabbath Cottage, a traditional living space is located on the ground floor, with more permanent dividers in the form of load-bearing walls. The second level cuts open the grass thatched roof to create an observation deck that doubles as an outdoor space, giving travelers a different perspective of their environment.