Tiger Track Ecolodge: Earth Architecture Meets Wildlife Conservation in Nepal

The Tiger Track Ecolodge, designed by Building Bureau, is a new model of wildlife tourism and contemporary earthen construction located in Bardiya, Nepal. Situated in the Khata Corridor between Bardiya National Park and India's Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, the project addresses two interrelated pressures: escalating human-wildlife conflict and the erosion of local building traditions. Tourism revenue supports the Single Women Wildlife Victims Fund and the Community-Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU), whose Rapid Response Team is based at the lodge. Architecturally, the project reinterprets the low mud-plastered walls and simple gabled roofs of indigenous Tharu settlements, challenging the notion that earth is a temporary, weak, or incompatible material for modern development. The lodge covers 4,250 square feet and is slated for completion in 2026. The design team includes Tyler Survant, AIA, and Anna Leshnick, PHCC, with technical input from Arun Rimal, PE. The general contractor is Sustainable Future Nepal, with project management by Hemanta Acharya. Photographs are by Sheltoh Thomas and Anna Leshnick. The project was curated by Susanna Moreira and published on ArchDaily in Spanish.