NOMA SPACES
NOMA SPACES monogram
Architecture · Interiors · Exteriors
Open-air makuti-roofed lounge at Kai Zanzibar with timber columns, linen curtains and sand floor

Nungwi, Zanzibar

Kai Zanzibar

Location
Nungwi, Zanzibar
Type
Boutique Hospitality
Status
Completed

Scope

  • Architecture & Design Direction
  • Interior Design
  • Exterior Design
  • Landscape & Outdoor Experience
  • Material Selection
  • Furniture & Styling
  • Lighting Direction
  • Hospitality Concept
  • Development Direction
  • Guest Experience Design

Kai Zanzibar was conceived as a private tropical retreat where architecture, interiors, landscape and hospitality work as one experience.

Natural textures, warm light, African art, water and tropical planting were brought together to create an environment that feels calm, intimate and connected to Zanzibar.

The project reflects NOMA's core philosophy: Spaces That Belong.

Architecture

Hand-cut makuti roofs carried on mangrove poles and rope lashings, opened on every side to sea breeze and shadow.

Open pavilion at Kai Zanzibar with makuti thatch roof, timber columns and linen curtains
Row of thatched villa verandas with arched timber doors above a sand terrace
Double-height makuti roof over the lounge with clustered woven rattan pendants
Woven timber shingle wall behind dense tropical planting

Interior Spaces

Rooms are quiet and tactile — lime plaster, carved timber, mud-cloth textiles and woven rattan, kept deliberately restrained.

Villa bedroom with graphic African canvas, timber platform bed and plaster walls
Carved timber stump bedside table and rattan pendant beside a platform bed
Bed with mud-cloth cushions seen through a plaster doorway in soft light
Cane and teak armchair with a tufted cushion behind linen curtains
View through timber doors into a villa bedroom framed by palms
Woven rattan pendant above a raw timber bedside table

Bathrooms

Poured plaster, arched niches and open windows turn each bathroom into a small courtyard room.

Plaster bathroom with backlit arched niches and a cast basin
Micro-cement bathroom with slim black pendants and a garden window
Walk-in plaster shower with a picture window onto a private planted courtyard
Plaster bathroom with arched lit niches and a cast basin

Outdoor Experience

Water, coral stone and dense planting extend the interiors outward, so the boundary between inside and outside disappears.

Aerial view of the curved main pool at Kai Zanzibar between thatched roofs and palms
Sand pathway with stepping stones between banana palms and white vessels
Private plunge pool and banana palms seen from the villa bathroom

Light & Atmosphere

Concealed light, arched niches and deep overhangs are tuned to the movement of the sun through the day.

Backlit arched plaster niches holding pale ceramic vessels

Designed as a complete experience, from architecture to atmosphere.

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