VILLA ALEGRE HOUSING LANDSCAPE

Villa Alegre is one of the oldest affordable housing projects in Santa Fe. In 2009, the Santa Fe Housing Authority began major planning to rehabilitate the aging homes and site. Surroundings created sustainable landscape strategies that helped make Villa Alegre the first LEED Platinium certified affordable housing complex in Santa Fe.

Surroundings worked creatively with the architectural and engineering team to deeply incorporate water conservation and water harvesting principles and methods into the site design. The plan focused on addressing the realities that face public housing that need low-impact landscapes, simple technology, lower construction and operation costs to achieve beautiful environments for families and seniors. Community gardens and site open space were designed to capture water and be centers for the community to gather.

An open space corridor not only fuses the housing community together, but connects the development with its neighboring community to the northeast with the Santa Fe River to the south.