Lamb Development Corp. replaced two towers of a condo project with an open design for an apple orchard. Image courtesy of Lamb Development Corp.

Canadian developer is taking an innovative and functional approach to green common areas.

Brad J. Lamb wanted to push the style envelope for architects by asking for a condominium plan that would include an apple orchard instead of a commonly designed park green space.

“We had a large piece of property in Calgary where we could have built four towers, but it seemed, to me, in this part of Calgary that was going to be too much,” Lamb says. “I wanted to provide an amenity for the city instead.”

So, Lamb Development Corp. put together a two-tower project to include a large green space for an orchard. Apple trees were chosen because the fruit will be able to thrive in Canada’s cooler climate.

“There are hundreds and hundreds of types of edible apples,” Lamb says. “We selected two (kinds) and we hired a landscape architecture firm to help and research the kinds of apples that will flourish.”

The orchard was Lamb’s idea to integrate a fun and interesting green space into the project and offering a non-traditional amenity that can also benefit the greater Calgary community.

“The number of apples we are going to generate is between 50,000 and 100,000 apples a year and those will go to a public service organization,” Lamb says. “Some will go to the condo corporation for people to eat when apples are available, but the bulk will go to people who need fruit.”

Lindsay Machak is an Associate Editor for Multifamily Executive. Connect with her on Twitter @LMachak.