Orchard Gardens

Orchard Gardens is a 35 unit affordable housing project set on the urban fringe of Missoula Montana. The project includes four multifamily buildings and a community building clustered on one half the site area. The remainder of the site is permanently conserved for urban farming. The 35 units include one, two, and three bedroom units. The project intentions included the following: • To provide beautiful, safe and nurturing housing for the residents. • To develop a nationally significant model of sustainable affordable housing. • To be carbon neutral to the extent feasible. • To evaluate all materials and systems choices on a triple bottom line basis. • To develop new partnerships, techniques and materials to reduce the project’s impact on the global environment and to enhance the local economy. • For the project to be an important participant in the urban fabric of Missoula both through the provision of critically needed affordable housing and through design that continues and enhances response to place and culture. • To demonstrate an appropriate response to development at the urban fringe, using tools including rezoning to increase density, neighborhood integration, and local food production. • To work in an inclusive, integrated design process. • To develop and follow a holistic framework for the design of a sustainable project. • To be catalytic in changing expectations of sustainable design and construction.