A new home, on a site accessible only by foot in the winter, takes its cues from the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. A stone base of Sierra White granite holds a strongly profiled natural cedar wood exterior above the normal twelve foot snow line. The house is capped with a simple planar zinc roof, to shed the heavy snowfall. Structural "trees" at the interior carry roof snow loads to allow the south facing wall to open to views and passive solar gain. A three story atrium allows light to penetrate to the lower level as well as provide a twenty-four foot climbing wall for use on off days.
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