The idea behind the shower and the toilet room is to be able to have two people shower at the same time, it also has to do with the number of people the guest rooms can accommodate since each one can hold two full size beds. I can see how it would be more convenient to have the bathroom in a location other than the end of the hall.
On the Cor ten steel, I thought i had read something where it talks about a process were the metal surface can be sealed, but i could be wrong about that. Thanks for the heads up on the front gate overheating, Oh you asked about the location, outside Palm Springs comes to mind. Thanks for your input Daniel, always appreciated.