John Maniscalco Architecture designed the Sugar Bowl residence in Norden, California. Description from the architects The design of this new home in the old village at Sugar Bowl is entirely a product of its dramatic environment. With a snow pack of as much as 8-9 feet, massive snow loads, and dangerous shear snow blocks dropping from typical sloped roofs, the site conditions dictate design. This new house uses the constraints to shape an elegant solution. Taking a historical railroad avalanche shed as a precedent, the house uses 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. Perched on a concrete plinth that lifts it above the tall winter snow-pack, the house allows snow to rise around it and meet the entry level. At the first floor, a solid, cedar-clad volume houses entry, boot room, children’s and guest bedrooms, and service spaces. The exaggerated