Architecture Directory

Elegant Mountain Snow House by John Maniscalco Architecture in Sugar Bowl

Californian-based firms, John Maniscalco Architecture have completed a linear roofed house in the old village at Sugar Bowl Norden, California. This Sugar Bowl residence is designed to adjust the dramatic environment. Surrounded by a pine trees, and massive snow loads, snow pack of as much as 8-9 feet, the site conditions dictate the buildings design. Shape an elegant solution, the house is set perched on a concrete plinth that lifts it above the tall winter snow-pack, allows snow to rise around it and meet the entry level. Used a simple, bent planar roof form to gather the rooftop snow pack and shed it to the rear of the structure, away from entry and pedestrian traffic. Inside, The interior palette of walnut, fir,concrete, and steel strikes a balance between clean, modern spatial expression with the warm, rustic feel of a mountain home. This house features two levels accomodation, where the first floor, consist of a solid, cedar-clad volume houses entry, boot room, children’s and guest bedrooms, and service spaces. On the upper level, a variety of living spaces and the master bedroom suite,each enjoying mountain views, are gathered between the linear roof form and the simple block below. In an otherwise horizontally oriented house, a two story glazed wall at the main stair provides a singular vertical perspective on the stands of surrounding pines and provides a moment of transition from the heavier base element to the light-filled airy spaces above.