10 winning casita designs will be available for Tucsonans to build

Casitas just got a creative boost through a design competition hosted by Tucson. And the goal is, they’ll be a little cheaper to build, too.

It’s part of the city’s push to supply more affordable housing to the region by making it easier and less costly for Tucsonans to build casitas with their own kitchens and restrooms as add-ons to main residences.

The 10 winning designs selected Thursday will be included in the city’s library of pre-approved model plans, said Dan Bursuck, the city’s manager of code development.

“The goal is the selected designs will submit full construction documents for approval, so they can be included in the pre-approved model plan library,” he said. “Once they’re in the library, a property owner may go to the website, view the available pre-approved plans which will have a contact for the designer, who the property owner may reach out to, to purchase and construct the casita on their property.”

The winning designs are also eligible for “waived building review fees,” said the city’s Planning and Development Services Department.

The Casita Model Plan Competition, sponsored by the city and its Planning and Development Services Department, began when they were awarded the AARP 2023 Community Challenge grant in June to launch the competition.

“Architects, engineers, designers, builders, contractors, design-build teams” and students were invited to submit up to three plans by Sept. 18. A public vote was held online, which comprised 10 points of the possible 90 for scoring.

The remaining 80 points were determined by a jury of experts judging “design guidelines, including accessibility and universal design, innovative construction/design, aesthetics and contextual integration, and sustainability, energy, and water efficiency,” the city planning department said.

Each winner received $1,000.

Casitas are also known as ADUs, or accessory dwelling units — secondary, smaller housing units in residential areas.

“The idea for a design competition for ADU Model Plans came from a number of other communities that have done so successfully,” Bursuck said in an email to the Arizona Daily Star, giving examples of Seattle, Houston and Raleigh, N.C.

The winning designs are:

TUx2 — Full design

TUx2 (pronounced “two-by-two”) was designed by Johnathan Bean, who does not represent a firm or organization.

The idea behind TUx2 was to “allow privacy and interaction between ADU and principal home residents” and was inspired by climate-responsive architecture of midcentury architect Arthur T. Brown.

“Because TU×2 uses familiar construction materials and techniques, such as 2x4 wood studs for walls and wood I-joists for roof joists, the design can be constructed quickly and well by a regular construction crew, or even a skilled DIY’er,” the proposal states. “Where innovations are made — for example in the use of insulated concrete forms for the stem walls, or the substitution of terracotta brick for a typical concrete slab, the changes simplify construction, reducing skill levels, cost, and specialized labor.”

The all-electric design would mean that TUx2 “will be ready for up to $14,000 of tax credits” from a U.S. Department of Energy-backed rebate program, the proposal says.

2 Bedroom Casita for Tucson — Full Design

Designed by Jack Robinson (no affiliation to any firm or organization), this casita has two bedrooms, an open kitchen, a dining and living area, room for a washer and dryer, all “fully accessible,” the submitted proposal says.

The plans also contain room for a 270-square-foot trellised patio, a 338-square-foot carport and 16 solar panels, as well as a skylight on top of a “white-coated EPDM ‘rubber roof.’”

ROOST — Full design

Designed by Valerie Lane of the Urban Infill Project, ROOST is available as a studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit design encompassing 436, 623 and 768 square feet, respectively.

All units include a full kitchen, hot water, are solar-ready with an all-electric design and come with “cool roof coating,” according to the designs submitted.

“The ROOST is a long and narrow structure, ideal for areas with limited space in one direction,” the submitted design explains. “It boasts open vaulted ceilings for a spacious feel.”

Desert Casita: An ADU Design for Life in Tucson — Full Design

Designed by Kelsi Montgomery and Erick Nickerson of Archilabworks, PLLC., the Desert Casita design comes in one- or two-bedroom options and “aims to serve individuals, families, aging in place, and those who need a fully accessible home,” the design submission states.

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“Using commonly available materials and methods, the compact systems work together to provide resource savings that benefit cost. Additionally, design for sustainability fills the spaces with daylight while providing shade from the harshest sun and circulating air through operable windows,” it says. “The casita roof was also designed to provide solar PV potential from any angle and allow water harvesting to fit within the footprint of the casita.”

Flex Casita — Full Design

Designed by Alex Vondeling of Opticos Design, the Flex Casita is a 745 square-foot detached ADU that includes a bathroom and two bedrooms, which don’t share a wall.

“There is an option for the second bedroom that opens off of the living room for use as a den/guest room or home office,” the design proposal states. “Large windows illuminate an open living, dining, and kitchen space with a vaulted ceiling that creates an airy, spacious-feeling interior in this compact casita.”

The Flex Casita would come with solar-ready roofing that employs a “cool roof” with “sufficient insulation and energy efficient windows to meet the most stringent energy codes.”

“The architectural style of the Flex Casita evokes the Craftsman bungalow style present in some older Tucson neighborhoods and uses a stucco exterior with wood details to harmonize with prevalent Tucson materials,” Vondeling says in his submission. “This casita design could also be adapted to a variety of other exterior styles, such as Territorial Revival or Desert Modern.”

Casita Sama — Full Design

From designers Annheliza Jordaan and Stefan Mostert, of Studio Sama, Casita Sama “utilizes an innovative low-cost modular construction system” that is able to convert from a one-bedroom, 513-square-foot casita to a two-bedroom, 643 square-foot one with no structural demolition required.

“At its core the design is highly responsive to climatic conditions and fully adaptive to various site orientations, all while remaining simple in its overall design aesthetic, allowing seamless integration with all pre-existing styles of any Main Residence,” the designers say.

Detached Sonoran ADU — Full Design

Representing the firm Silva & Havens, the Detached Sonoran ADU designed by Logan Havens features heavy walls, a limited “palette” of materials, modest spaces and “a quality of light” that defines Tucson’s historic core, the design submission states.

“This house has been designed to fit into the majority of lots with ranging levels of engagement or privacy with the existing residence,” he said. “The house can be facing the existing residence to create a courtyard-style typology, the street on a corner lot facing the neighborhood, or creating a new life in alleyways.”

The design features Insulated Concrete Foam (ICF) and has a modular capability to increase from the base 460-square-foot studio to the 650-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath design to the 780-square-foot, two-bed/one-bath design.

House Saltamontes — Full Design

Designed by Alejandro Fernandez of Modulbox, House Saltamontes can be assembled in one day by five people, according to the submitted design.

“Our ADUs are assemblable, (disassemblable) and relocatable. They are transported disassembled in flatpack mode, so the end customer has considerable savings in transportation and installation costs,” he says. “5 people can completely assemble it in a single day and leave it ready with finishes.”

Tucson Casita — Full Design

Designed by Scott Neeley of Scott Neeley Architecture, LLC, Tucson Casita is a one-bedroom, 576- square-foot unit.

“The design blends harmoniously with many of Tucson’s architectural styles, is adaptable to a variety of sites, and is energy-efficient,” the design says. “The light-filled interior is wrapped with porches and a pergola to encourage indoor-outdoor living.”

The unit features a universal design for accessibility, comes optionally with net-zero energy efficiency, and uses an efficient 24-foot-by-24-foot floor plan.

Casa Mini — Full Design

Designed by Sofia Soto, who is not associated with any firm or organization, Casa Mini is just what it sounds like: mini.

Coming in at just under 350 square feet with a studio-style arrangement, the unit comes with a full kitchenette, washer and dryer, as well as a full bath. It can be used “either as a guest house or a work-from-home office,” but is also equipped to allow for a single bedroom and covered-entry porch.

“The roof is designed to butterfly to one downspout, gathering rainwater into a 500-gallon water tank for irrigation purposes. The lowslope roof is to be solar-ready and be able to receive solar PV panels. Fenestration along the perimeter of CASA MINI has been thoughtfully designed as small punched windows, regulating daylight and solar heat gain inside the house.”