In the midst of a renovation, the David and Gladys Wright Guesthouse in Phoenix shows the architect?s skill with small spaces Measuring a scant 260 square feet, the small, low-slung structure still manages to make an outsized architectural statement. The guest house?s slanted roof, lined with a saw-tooth metal fascia as jagged as the surrounding agave plants, hangs over a row of windows that frame the main property off in the distance. The view of the main residence is the property?s real joy, which is not surprising, since the architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, wasn?t shy about showcasing his own work. In this case, that?s the circular David and Gladys Wright House in Phoenix, Arizona, a nautilus-like precursor to his Guggenheim Museum.
?The main house is a spiraling diva,? says Victor Sidy, preservation architect, former dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture from 2005 to 2015, and one of the leaders of an ongoing effort to restore the smaller building. ?This guest house is like the backup singer.?
Andrew Pielage
The view of the main home through the guest house windows; Sidy says the framing works like Japanese screen.

Built in 1954, two years after the completion of the main home, as a type of accessory dwelling unit that would give the owners more space, the undersized guesthouse has always stood in the shadow of the main home, itself recently restored and re-established as a house museum. But as it cleans up and comes into ...