A massive pivot door enables an interior room to open onto a covered patio in casiTa, a guesthouse in Arizona designed by architecture firm The Ranch Mine.
Encompassing 974 square feet (90 square metres), the guesthouse sits on an urban lot in a residential area in Phoenix.
The Ranch Mine built the casiTa guest house in Phoenix
It was designed for the backyard of the Foo house, also designed by local studio The Ranch Mine. The uppercase "T" in the project's name ? casiTa ? alludes to the building's T-shaped floor plan.
The guesthouse accommodates the client?s out-of-state family members who like to visit for stretches of time.
"They were getting so many visitors ? especially during the fall, winter and spring months, when the Phoenix weather is fantastic compared to most other places," the architects said. "They needed a space for long-term guests." A wide roof hangs over the patio to create a sheltered outdoor spot
While its current location has a desert climate, the building was designed for adaptation to a variety of settings with small modifications, such as the inclusion of an indoor fireplace or customised finishes.
Low-maintenance materials were used for exterior walls, including board-formed concrete, light-toned stucco and steel.
On the east elevation, the home's flat roof extends outward, shading both a generous patio and glazed walls that enclose part of the home. The underside of the roof is clad in stained plywood in a custom pat...