Nestled within the eco-sensitive slopes of Panchgani near the scenic 'Parsi Point' in Satara district, the New Era High School campus is a testament to the philosophy of critical regionalism, where built form defers to landscape and architecture becomes an act of ecological stewardship. Commissioned by the New Era School Committee Trust under the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, the project builds upon a legacy rooted in 1945, now re-imagined as a 3,055-square-meter campus for 240 senior secondary students across a trapezoidal 2.77-acre site descending gently toward the valley. The masterplan fragments the physical mass into smaller, functionally discrete volumes, connected by pathways, bridges, and sunken courtyards, with a "Central Street" threading through a 250-seat amphitheater to link the upper academic precinct with the lower dining hall and playfields, seamlessly navigating a 1:20 slope without interrupting universal access.

Guided by the region's cultural and climatic character, all materials were sourced locally, native basalt stone retaining walls, Kadappa stone plinths, and sloping metal roofs whose gabled silhouettes echo the surrounding mountain peaks. Rainwater spouts are treated as deliberate architectural gestures channeling runoff into a comprehensive harvesting system, while sunken courtyards draw natural light deep into lower levels. An exclusively native planting palette anchors the landscape firmly to its context, ensuring the campus does not merely sit within its environment, it belongs to it.