Photo: Colour photos, Sam Hartnet
It was called the 'School House in the Clouds'.
Following his feat of climbing Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary returned to the Himalayas to repay the locals for their help - and one his first tasks, was building a school.
It was completed in Khumjung in 1961 and educated many children over the decades.
But when time took its toll on one of the original smaller buildings, the decision was made to turn it into a visitor centre.
The project, by Auckland-based architects Pearson & Associates, won the international award at Friday night's New Zealand Architecture Awards.
To explain what the extensive restoration involved, and how difficult a task that was at an altitude of 3800m, Kathryn is joined by Rick Pearson, director of Pearson & Associates.
