International Wood International Wood 2008 | Page 42

Sustainability, as in long-term viability, is
a defining philosophy for the Post Ranch Inn.
The resort minimizes environmental impact in
countless ways including active/passive airflow,
water recycling, solar energy and the use of sus-
tainably harvested materials. In addition to being
socially responsible, the Post Ranch Inn has also
created a timeless experience of relaxation for its
guests, successfully enough to justify hefty room
rates ranging between $550 and $2,100 a night.
The goal was to create a space where people can
come back into balance with nature, and that is a
service that never goes out of style.
Janet Freed, Janet Gay Freed Interior Design, has
been a part of the team that created the Post Ranch
Inn from the beginning. She eloquently shared some
of the design nuances that contribute to the sense of
universal serenity, the main draw to the Post Ranch
Inn. Each of the original 30 units was designed with
Muennig’s special attention to placement and pro-
portion. There are six cylinder-shaped two-story
units that pay homage to the original expansion of
geometry from a single point to a limitless number
of points, the circle. Seven tree houses sit up on stilts
in a powerful triangular configuration. Muennig
employed the divine mean, a proportion extrapo-
lated from the same drawings of interconnected
circles that influenced Da Vinci’s genius, to define
his shapes. Five units are earth shelters built into the
ground with sod roofs, blurring the line between
nature and the design. The Butterfly House, with its
symmetrical design that looks like a butterfly in the
blueprint, peacefully houses six units in a faerie ring
of old growth redwoods.
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