ABOVE THE PAGTFIC ON GHEIIIONITE POLES

Qorbes FYI called it, "A Shangd-la I ' for the '90's." the Nep YorkTimes proclaims it, "spectacular...environmentally correct," and it is packing in Hollywood celebrities and guests from around the globe. It's the new Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California.

Developed on a bluff I ,200 feet above the Big Sur coastline, the Inn is situated amid some of the mostenvironmentally sensitive and striking scenery in the world. Building restrictions were sotight that it had to be a one-of-a-kind project - and it is.

Architect Mickey Muennig, internationally renowned forhis ability to merge the natural beauty of landscape with the functional elements of structure, spent days camping on the site recording the routes ofeach tree root and the angle of each slope.

Muennig designed the Inn's 30 guest rooms, most of them free standing, so that guests could feel apartof nature, not merely be observers of it.

In order to build in the dense coastal forest without disturbing the trees, Muennig designed angular treehouses built a full story above ground level on Chemonite treated poles. Not only did this satisfy his objective ofleaving natu- ral landscape and root systems undisturbed, butthe treehouses' elevation also provides enhanced views eastward to the mountains and westward to the Pacific Ocean.

Indeed the environment topped the list of government regulators' concerns in the Big Sur area too. Here, time required to gamercommercial building perrnits is often measured in terms of decades, not years. Yet the Post Ranch Inn was the first resort to meet the stringent standards of the Big SurLand Use Plan, and it gained approval with virtually no opposition.

Constructioncosts forthe PostRanch Inn's 2l buildings, which include 30 guest units, two lodges, a restaurant and quarters for 20 employees, were $7 million, bringing total project costs to $10 million. Room rates range from $250 to $500 per night.

Below grade on the project's western slope, units have been built into the hillside following the ground's natural contours. Some have sod roofs on which native Monterey Peninsula grasses grow. For these units, Chemonite treated plywood and dimensional lumber were used to protect against termites and rot.

Muennig says in keeping with his life-long commitment to environmental design, he selected Chemonite to provide a durable wood that was, "as environmentally safe as possible."