Sacuanjoche Adventure Lodge

The bungalows are the heart of the experience: timber cabins raised on piles, with a front porch, an outdoor shower and hipped roofs that shed the tropical rain. They stand above the ground without disturbing it, letting water and vegetation flow beneath them.

The whole structure was designed in treated patula pine. The species was chosen for its strength: it has fewer than three knots per linear foot, and under international timber-construction standards it ranks among the most suitable species for structures and the best suited to a full preservative treatment.

Beyond its durability, treated timber gives every cabin a warm, welcoming atmosphere that invites guests to live in the middle of nature, with a rational, economical building system that is quick to assemble on a remote site.

The lobby welcomes guests arriving by river. A round reception desk sits at the center of a large open hall, surrounded by administration offices, an infirmary, a pharmacy, shops and phones: everything a remote lodge needs to run on its own.

The restaurant arranges a central dining room under a hipped roof with a raised lantern, wrapped in covered corridors that work as shaded terraces. The kitchen, storerooms and staff facilities sit behind it, with their own service entrance.

The lookout bar closes the route. Its octagonal plan, with a curved bar and timber pergolas, opens toward the water so the afternoon ends facing the lake.

Before the final master plan, the resort was worked out by hand. These perspectives show how the idea evolved: the first, drawn freehand by architect Alberto Gaitan Leiva, explores an early alternative laid out along the river; the second, in color, presents the final alternative the project was developed from.