The project, at the site of Buddha’s birth, is an important part of the larger ‘Buddhist Circuit’ project, being steered by the World Bank in collaboration with local governments and tourism bodies. The greater project aims at unlocking Buddhist heritage in South-Asia, the region of its origin, acting as a driver for socio-economic progress. The Ama Café project transforms an existing Kenzo Tange designed pavilion within the Lumbini Masterplan into a café for Buddhist pilgrims and tourists. As a socio-economic instrument for local communities and creating livelihood opportunities, the café employs only women and incorporates local craft in the form of bamboo lights and wooden furniture. The social goals were set out as initial objectives of the Kenzo Tange 1978 Masterplan and has been reinforced by the World Bank as a project pre-requisite.

The pavilion is a two-storied monolithic barrel vaulted brick structure. The adaptive reuse approach has a dual response to the existing brick pavilion. First, it provides continuity of the vaulted geometry of the internal space into the form of the millwork, furniture, and spatial configuration. Second, it augments the homogeneous brick with an earthy materiality of polished