This project has been imagined as a traveller’s retreat in the beautiful Almora Hills. The core of the project is its north-facing slope. Framing the views of the Himalayas hence became the zeitgeist throughout. Managing resources and developing ingenious construction technologies with the locals was the greatest experience for us as designers. The Dining and Kitchen block was the structure planned in the first phase. The challenge was to seat it on the stepped ground responding to its context of climate and regional aesthetics. Stones quarried from the site, and locally sourced timber render the vernacular character to the built block.