Logic, skill and intuition combine in a northern California vacation home at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort designed by BCV Architecture Interiors’ founding principal Hans Baldauf. “The location drives the design,” Baldauf explains. “Sugar Bowl is recognized as having some of the largest amounts of snowfall in the United States. The lower level of the home where you enter can be fairly engulfed in snow, while the upper level has mountain and forest views that make it feel liberated from the snow walls.” Just outside are freshly-groomed Royal Gorge trails for a true ski-on/ski-off experience with direct chairlift access. 
“What I love about the house is that as you progress through it, the feeling on the lower level is different than the main level,” Baldauf comments. “On the lower level you are looking into the trees, and as you head upstairs there are bigger views of the tops of the trees. The transformation you experience from the bottom to the top level makes it feel like you’re climbing up inside a treehouse.” 
Embracing small and large groups for any occasion was another thing Baldauf kept in mind during the design process. “Human beings like to have the ability to dress in jeans or dress up, and homes are the same way. Whether it’s a casual gettogether or a dinner party for 25, the house should work equally well, something that’s especially true in the mountains. This home really addresses those different aspects of living.”
Photography by Vance Fox.
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