Affordable Guesthouse

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Affordable Guesthouse

Firm

Archithetics

Type

Residential › Private House

SIZE

0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET

$10K - 50K

This tiny guest house is situated in a lush garden behind a charming craftsman house in Los Angeles’ Atwater neighborhood. Meant to serve as a study / mother-in-law cottage, the space includes a murphy bed, a kitchenette, a small bathroom and an outdoor shower. We addressed the program and it’s $40,000 construction budget by developing four design options based on different economical structural systems. The first features a tube steel moment frame with infill polycarbonate panels for screens, doors and windows. This option also features a sleeping loft. The second option is a post and beam system in the mid-century vein, in which shear is provided through CMU walls on two opposite sides. The third option features a butterfly roof with shear panels of plywood in the middle third of each of the exterior walls, allowing light in through the corners. The fourth option is inspired by the American barn vernacular, and features a hip roof with two solid walls and two sliding screen walls. Shear on the open sides are provided through cable braces.