Sterling Vanyatara.

Guests arrive through a wildlife-themed gate into a central hub defined by sweeping terracotta-style roofs and stately arches — contemporary luxury set against the Tadoba buffer.

Accommodation ranges from two-storey blocks to intimate shaded cottages.

Interiors carry regional craftsmanship: double-height wooden ceilings, expansive glass doors, traditional wood and brass four-poster beds, and bathrooms pairing rugged stone washbasins with patterned terracotta tile.

A resort in a tiger-reserve buffer has to make most of what it uses. Power, water and sewage treatment are designed into the plan rather than connected to it, and the building season closes with the monsoon — so a milestone missed in May is not recovered until the following winter.

The mix of two-storey blocks and separate cottages is a plan decision before it is an elevation one. The blocks hold the rooms that make the site work; the cottages hold the ones people choose the place for. Our appointment here runs to architecture, structure, mechanical and electrical, and fire fighting.