Frantz Ski Haus

Make room for the cousins

A creek-oriented ski house has a plan for a full weekend.

Frantz Ski Haus grew as the family brief grew. Magnin’s account describes an initial 3,500-square-foot program that became 4,200 when a bunk room and play loft entered the picture. Six bunk beds make the priorities fairly clear: this house expects company.

The plan separates bedrooms from the gathering wing, with the entrance between them. Shared rooms turn toward the creek, and terraces extend that relationship outdoors. The pitched forms give the house a familiar alpine outline while helping organize a substantial program into readable parts.

That clarity is what makes the family story architecturally interesting. A crowded weekend calls for places to gather and places to withdraw, with circulation that does not turn every quiet room into a shortcut. The useful idea is the split between wings. It gives sociability a home in the plan—and gives everyone else somewhere to go when the bunk-room contingent gets loud.