Institute of Noetic Sciences Petaluma, CA Huettl-Thuilot Associates,  Stefan Thuilot-Principal Designer Located on 200 acres of rolling hills above Petaluma, CA, the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is a nonprofit organization that sponsors research, workshops and retreats regarding the potentials of human consciousness, mind, and spirit. IONS needed an outdoor space that functions as stage, dining room, congregation space, and transitional area to the surrounding native landscape. HTA met these needs by incorporating tenets of ecological sustainability and regionalism. To reduce the environmental cost of the project, construction materials included lime plaster, fly-ash concrete, local aggregate, and poured earth. Magnesium oxide replaced cement in the layered, poured earth wall that reflects the local topography. Native plants and grasses transition seamlessly to the adjoining grasslands. Highlighted design features include the arbor, walls and stepped circle. Constructed of rebar and steel beams and planted with wisteria, the arbor serves dual purposes of shading the dining terrace and defining the stage area. Differentiated wall materials; Calistoga stone for the walls perpendicular to the building, and lime plaster for the walls parallel to the building, define and organize view corridors in two different directions. The stepped circle acts as a hub linking the two main levels, creating a place to celebrate the region in a setting that respects and responds to its native ecology. od of the terrace.