ROOMS AT THE TOP STAND I ,2OO FEET ABOVE THE PACIFIC ON CHEMONITE POLES

Eorbes FYI called it, "A Shangri-la I 'for the '90's." the New YorkTimes proclai ms 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 abluff 1,200 feet above the Big Sur coastline, the Inn is situated amid some of the most environmentally sensitive and striking scenery in the world. Building restrictions were so tight that it had to be a one-of-a-kind project - and it is.

Architect Mickey Muennig, internationallyrenowned forhis ability to merge the natural beauty of landscape with the functional elements of structure, spent days camping on the site recording the routes of each 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 a part of 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, butthetreehouses' 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 garner commercial building permits 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.

Construction costs for the Post Ranch 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 lumberwere 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."