Vantage
P o i n t
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“Crow’s Nest” retreat built
to take advantage of Sugar
Bowl’s soaring views
Wr i t te n by K y l e M a gi n
Ph o to gr a p hy by B r u c e D a m o n te
Perched on one of the
highest residential reaches of Sugar Bowl,
the Crow’s Nest exists as a nod to both the
mountain and skiing.
Designed by a multi-generational
Sugar Bowl skier for a fellow lifelong Sugar
Bowl skier and his family, the butterflyroofed modern design with rustic tendencies stands balanced on a ski slope. One
side of the house looks down the slope to
Sugar Bowl, the other upwards into the forest, with stunning diagonal views of Castle
Peak and Mount Judah.
“The house feels both comfortable and
exhilarating,” says Hans Baldauf, principal
architect at San Francisco–based BCV Architects. “That exhilaration is what being in the mountains is about—the house has that
feeling you get just before you push off on a ski run, the balance of
that moment.”
Designed to withstand snow loads of ten-plus feet (a second-
story entrance can also serve as a grand entrance if the ground
floor is snowed in), achieving that balance required an elegant
but muscly design and a build team willing to work within the
parameters the resort laid down. Accessed by a dirt road in
summer and snowmobiles in winter, building the Crow’s Nest was
no easy feat.
“The main challenge is that the house is built on a ski run,”
says Paul Zarubin, owner of Truckee’s Mt. Lincoln Construction,
the general contractor on the project.
With previous experience building at Sugar Bowl, Zarubin
understood the resort’s restrictive rules—materials and personnel must be snowmobiled to the site in winter along very specific
San Francisco-based architect Hans Baldauf, who designed
the home, comes from a long line of Sugar Bowl skiers—
his grandfather drew an early mock-up for the resort
routes at less than five miles per hour. Contending with subcontractors who valued time above those considerations was sometimes difficult, but not nearly as difficult as dealing with Mother
Tahoe Quarterly 115
This Page, Clockwise from far left: Windows
throughout the house take full advantage of spectacular
Donner Summit views | Stone from the fireplace came
from Sierra Nevada and Idaho quarries | The floating
staircase serves as an area for both conveyance and conversation Opposite page: Mid-century modern interior
design touches adds whimsy
Nature following the monster winter of 2010–11, when Sugar Bowl
Baldauf added.
was open for Independence Day skiing. Builders broke ground that
summer—one that didn’t start until July.
on a 5.5-inch datum, every board, shelf, window and door in the
house lines up on the measurement from the foundation to the
“Once we got the snow off the lot to give it time to dry out and
broke ground, it was early August,” Zarubin says.
roof. Meeting the exacting standards wasn’t a cakewalk, Zarubin
says. The ground floor is expressed on the exterior with board-
The wood, glass and concrete exterior, with steel accents, sits
below the aforementioned over-engineered roof.
formed concrete, and the building process was delayed while the
concrete subcontractors worked the exacting datum specifications
“It’s a multi-folded, double-sloped roof—a butterfly roof on an
angle,” says Jennifer Smith, the BCV project manager in charge of
into their process, he added.
the Crow’s Nest. “The radial beam pattern resolves the geometry
nicely. The house is really about the diagonal, the radiating beams
and the flooring to hit that line,” says Zarubin. “Even the spice rack,
guide your eye to reinforce those views.”
everything has to hit it.”
The boxy exterior opens on the ground floor to a series of
“Even on the floors, you have to subtract your underlayment
Despite the prevalence of wood and concrete on the ground
concrete arches and concrete flooring. The dominant interior
floor, splashes of color brighten spaces throughout. A powder room
material—western hemlock—is immediately apparent upon entry
adjacent to a steam sauna immediately to the left of the entrance
and melds nicely with the homeowner’s request to balance a rustic
features bright multicolored glass tiles from Ceramic Tile Design in
look with a modern feel.
San Francisco around the vanity and on the back wall. Set against
raw concrete, the tiles make for a sharp juxtaposition, a key for the
“We wanted it to feel like a mountain cabin,” says the
homeowner, who elected to remain anonymous. “We wanted to use
homeowners, who adore color, says interior designer Lisa Staprans,
a lot of wood, but we also wanted it to feel modern and we wanted
the Portola, California-based owner of Staprans Designs.
it to have a lot of clean lines.”
Staprans says, noting the reds in the tile mimic the red pendant
Western hemlock was chosen for its richness of color and
the priceless quality of not becoming orange over the years,
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Clean lines are an indelible factor in the home’s design. Built
“We wanted to keep popping colors throughout the house,”
Niche Modern glass lighting over the kitchen island. “It’s cool how
you can layer all these things and see [the
colors] again and again in the house.”
connecting all three levels of the house—fit
the family’s wishes in providing another
In addition to a mudroom and
The extra-wide, well-lit staircase—
storage, the family’s media room is also on
place for people to sit and socialize.
the ground floor.
and a social space, a place to sit and look
Decorated in a mixture of Dutch
“It was conceived as a sculptural object,
modern and mid-century modern, the
out the window,” Baldauf says.
interior is whimsical from top-to-bottom—
an egg chair invites visitors to have a seat
to a large deck overlooking the forest on
on the way up a generous staircase to the
the south side of the home, with massive
main level on the north side of the house.
windows accommodated by a double-
height ceiling to take in the sight.
The staircase provided one of the
funnier stories in the tale of constructing the
On the main level, the view opens up
“We wanted a very tall space that
would allow the presence of the trees
home. Engineered by BCV as a free-standing
entity, the builders inserted a steel post to support it in construction.
outside to be completely felt inside,” Baldauf says. “We didn’t want
you to look out and see a big tree in the distance.”
“The engineer came after that and said ‘What’s that support
post doing going all the way up?’” Zarubin says. “We told him ‘that’s
the support,’ and he said ‘I don’t want the support there.’”
steel beams in the slightly sunken great room, evoking the feel of a
Large, peeled-wood columns made of Douglas fir wrap around
The building crew checked the plans, and sure enough, no post.
large tree trunk inside. Hickory flooring complements the western
“So the steel guy comes back, cuts out the post and the
hemlock walls.
staircase didn’t move,” Zarubin laughs. “It was one case where the
Separating the great room from adjacent spaces on the right is
architect wins.”
a large, granite fireplace, with stone sourced from both the Sierra
Tahoe Quarterly 117
This Page, clockwise from
far left: The main wooden
mass of the home is perched on a
board-formed concrete nest, hence
the “Crow’s Nest” moniker | Arches
create the structure on the lower
level | Metal beams are wrapped
in wood to bring the feel of tree
trunks inside
and Idaho. The masonry carries outside, creating a strong stone column. To the
right of the great room is a cozy and casual playroom for the homeowners’ four
children, with a Moroccan fuzzy carpet and retro chairs in clean white and blue
around a table, lit by birch wood pendant lights from Secto Design. Beyond the
playroom is a large sitting room with green Design Within Reach chairs.
Immediately to the left of the great room is the kitchen, with a center island,
mosaic backsplash and stainless steel range hood. Views look out diagonally to
the resort. The dining room is highlighted by a reclaimed teak dining table from
Berkeley’s the Wooden Duck situated under birch wood pendant lights.
A large, stone-floored deck off the great room is cantilevered off the
ground floor. Wrought iron railings accented with wood ring the space, and
hydronic heating keeps feet toasty even on cold days. The orientation of
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the deck takes its cue from the Lodge
at Sugar Bowl, designed by William
Wurster.
“We oriented the deck at the same
southwest angle as Sugar Bowl’s lodge, so
in the summer you do get shading and
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in the winter you get sun on that deck,”
Baldauf says. The space calls the family
home for lunch during a day of skiing. A
small covered barbecue area, held aloft by
two clear cedar turn posts crafted by Renobased artisan Ron Borst, provides a sun
shade for the cook.
On the top level, the children’s rooms
face to the north and include punched
corner windows taking in diagonal views of
the surrounding topography.
“On New Year’s, I was in there with
the kids and they were gathered at the
corner window as people were shooting
fireworks off,” the homeowner says. “They
really enjoy those spaces; it’s a great place
to read and enjoy the views.”
Recipient of Tahoe Quartely’s 2013 Mountain Retreat Award and the
CATT 2013 Residential Project of the Year for Crow’s Nest Residence, Sugar Bowl
The master and guest suites both have
walk-out decks and look into the forest on
the south side of the home.
“You’re surrounded by the view, much
more so than the children’s rooms because
those needed to be sheltering, the small
windows are there to provide glimpses
from bunk beds,” Baldauf says. “Whereas
in the master suite and guest suite, the
drama is really admired through the height
of the windows.”
For a skiing family, is there anything
better?
Award
mountain retreat
Architect: Hans Baldauf,
BCV Architects
Builder: Mt. Lincoln Construction
Interior Design: Lisa Staprans,
Staprans Design
Square Feet: 5,600
Year Completed: 2013
Tahoe Quarterly 119