Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga Photo by Auberge Resorts

The site for Calistoga Ranch has provided a unique opportunity to create a private retreat on one of the last available parcels in the Napa Valley, California's pristine wine country. The primary defining feature of the design for the $64 million Calistoga Ranch-which combines 47 guest lodges with 27 ownership units-is the intimate connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, offering a direct experience of the natural surroundings that are unique to the valley.

The second defining feature of the design is that it "treads lightly" on its wooded, 23-acre site. Every design decision was made to maximize the guests' and owners' connection to the surroundings, while minimizing their impact upon the site.

In a tremendously complex design and construction effort, each of the more than 200 structures is individually placed to disturb the site as little as possible. The structures have been built around the trees and contours of the site to make every undulation of the land and bend of the trees a part of the design. Every tree on Calistoga Ranch was meticulously marked to save nearly all old-growth trees. Then, each lodge was sited and crafted around the existing trees. Moreover, the trees have been incorporated into the design itself, which uses them to provide shade and drama that might otherwise have been accomplished with built elements.

Set upon pilings, rather then on traditional slab or perimeter foundations, the structures literally float above the landscape, allowing unfettered root growth and natural drainage patterns. This was particularly critical to the fragile ecosystem of this canyon, and to the health of the stream that runs down its center. There have been virtually no grading changes, and the only real excavation has been for the property's pool and wine cave. Lodges and amenities are linked by crushed gravel footpaths, acknowledging both the primacy of the natural setting and the site's campground legacy.

In response to zoning restrictions, each lodge is actually a series of pre-fabricated, modular park model units sheathed in cedar shingles, connected by wooden decks, trellised walkways and large outdoor deck/living areas with teak furniture, a marble slab table and a giant fireplace. Less costly modular construction also allowed room in the budget for luxurious finishes and amenities. The guest lodges average 1,600 sq. ft., 30 percent of which is provided by the outdoor living spaces. (Only the amenities are stick-built construction.) Each lodge is an individual structure, with no common walls, offering privacy and a residential experience.

Materials played an important role in creating a design that combines the "cabin in the woods" atmosphere appropriate to the project's setting and philosophy, yet invokes a sophisticated resort experience. Rustic materials such as cedar shingles, dry-stacked stone and copper roofs, (which will patina over time), have been combined with sleek materials such as black steel doors and steel airline cable deck railings. The consistency and simplicity of the materials palette also saved time and money, helping keep the complex design within budget. Floor to ceiling windows erase the line between indoor and outdoor spaces, which then blend together to create a single integrated experience.

The Development Team

Owner: Olympus Real Estate Corp.
Developer: Criswell Radovan LLC
Developer's representative: Peck Jones Construction Management
Operator: Auberge Resorts
Architect: SB Architects
Construction manager: Peck Jones Construction Management
General contractor: Taisei Construction
Interior design: Darrell Schmitt Design Associates
Landscape consultant: Jack Chandler & Associates
Landscape masterplan/design: Projects Pacific
Landscape consultant/installation: vanderToolen Associates
Engineers:
RSA Engineering (civil)
JRA (electrical)
RGH (geotechnical)
ARC Inc. (mechanical and plumbing)
Structural Engineering Solutions

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