Hillsboro, Ore.

Key Players

Owner/Developer REACH Orenco LLC

Lead Design Firm Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects

General Contractor Walsh Construction Co.

Structural Engineering Stonewood Design

Mechanical and Plumbing Engineering PAE Consulting Engineers

Civil Engineering MGH Associates

Landscape Architect Walker Macy

The Orchards at Orenco will offer 57 units of workforce housing, located next to the Orenco Station light rail transit stop.

REACH Community Development, a nonprofit, sponsored the Orchards, which was created to achieve Passive House certification, awarded for rigorous energy efficiency.

Walsh Construction Co. laid out the $9-million building in an L-shape, featuring residential wings. The design team put forth the shape and orientation to meet design guidelines in the Orenco Station district of Hillsboro rather than for energy efficiency or massing of similar spaces.

The team instead sought other methods for energy efficiency, including installing 12 in. of insulation in the roof—four times that required by Oregon’s uniform building code, project experts say. Also, the 10-in., insulation-filled wall cavity is deeper than the 6 in. required.

The three-story structure is wood-framed and sits on a slab-on-grade foundation.