The Avens

Located on the west edge of downtown Boise, The Avens will be the first building in this new, largely undeveloped area, setting a precedent for future development of the neighborhood. Somewhere between urban and suburban, the area’s proximity to the new Esther Simplot park, access to the river nearby, and plans for adding transit, give it potential to become a favorite place for new residents and families.

The Avens’ massing is broken down by orienting the two distinct residential sections in an east-west direction and by pulling the lower scale connective amenity space back from the streets. This layout allows for a reduced facade impact, creating space for distinct community and building service areas in the east and west courtyards.

The design of residential units focuses on natural light, healthy building materials, and thoughtful layouts. Featuring high-end finishes, quartz countertops, inset balconies, and excellent amenities.

The City of Boise has committed to using 100% clean energy by 2035, and becoming carbon neutral by 2050. In alignment with these commitments, The Avens goes above and beyond traditional sustainability measures, targeting Passive House certification. To achieve this, the layout is shaped to be compact, which helps reduce air infiltration, increases the efficiency of mechanical and hot water systems, reduces wasted capacity, simplifies construction, and lowers construction and long-term maintenance costs. With Boise’s climate of sunny winters and large daily temperature swings in summer, the building forms are oriented to control solar gain and prevent overheating of apartments. Additionally, windows and doors are carefully selected and placed to reduce air leaks, heat loss, and solar gain.