Pousada Tauma, which in Portuguese means 'the resting place', is a 13-room, theme resort with a built up area of 1,400 sq m. The site was originally a flat, odd-shaped coconut grove of approximately 4,300 sq m, surrounded by a dense village on all sides. It has a proper road access at one end and a service access at the other. The site needed to be articulated and areas defined by the creation of levels, planting buffers, intermediate pavilions and paving changes. It is 1.5 km from the infamous Calangute beach and being in this village, needed to buffer itself from the over-development of this area and look inwards.

A stone archway with a palm leaf gate takes one through a colonnaded structure housing an entrance pavilion, shop, gymnasium and an ayurvedic centre, into the open central space which feeds the various other resort rooms and facility pavilions like the restaurant, garden pavilion, etc. The pool , with its bar, entry pavilion, an elevated deck and waterfall are also located here. This large space gives one the impression that the site is larger than it actually is.

Most of the rooms are designed around three themes - the sea, the fields and the hills. The whole complex is insulated from the outside, and captures the spirit of Goa which is famous for these elements of natural beauty.

The 'Sea' rooms evoke the feel of the sea with their shell windows, free-flowing metal forms for grills and furniture, coral and aquamarine colours with marine plants and aquatic motifs in the interiors and floors, which are cast in situ with flowing divisional lines. Each of the three 'Sea' rooms represents the depths in the ocean structure - beach front, shallow water and deep sea. The rooms are covered with country tiles that also flow freely between the two domes.

The 'Field' rooms convey the image of fields with the use of shades of green and brown. The furniture is made of cane and the flooring is terracotta. The feel of bamboo , grass and palm is captured in the design of grills, windows and other details.

The 'Hill' rooms are at an elevation and are accessed through a series of platforms, starting from the elevated pool deck and waterfall. Mixed stone for the floor, hard thick wood for doors, windows and furniture, and the colours of the sky for the interiors gives an illusion of a hill.

The pool, of adequate length for a swimmer, is free-form. It has features like a bar, broad entrance steps off a pavilion, a children's wading area, a grotto with a waterfall and a pebbled beach with a little side stream. The pool deck is paved with Dholpur stones which feel cool when moistened and are non-slip. All the bathrooms have china mosaic which are also non-slip. Their colour schemes and pattern complement the theme of the rooms they are attached to.

The restaurant block is an open pavilion with an intricate stone colonnade and broad benches. Called the Copper Bowl, the copper theme is reflected in the furniture, lamps, bar details and even the crockery. The floor is of Baroda green marble that complements the laterite stone and copper theme. Attached to the far end of the restaurant is a small court with a banyan tree that acts as a buffer between the service block and restaurant. The service block houses the kitchen, laundry, staff quarters, manager's room and generator in a linear building with a verandah. It is well lit and ventilated rare for service blocks in an industry usually inconsiderate about its staff.

The whole complex is built of laterite stone, using traditional arches over openings, traditional corbelling methods to create overhangs for the roof and traditional country tiles from old houses which cover a hidden concrete slab, thus adding modern practicality within a traditional aesthetic.

The complex is dramatically enhanced by a tropical garden. Moving through it, one experiences a sense of discovery, as buildings and open spaces slowly unfold as one goes along, where the lush planting of cool colours are offset by the brilliant warm, articulated laterite walls.

Pousada Tauma is a resting place - for one's eyes and body.