New Orleans firm Office of Jonathan Tate has transformed a vacant, tree-studded site into a residential complex for soldiers and their families, with dwellings arranged in a way that aims to foster social bonding and prevent isolation.
The Bastion Community development is located in Gentilly, a suburban neighbourhood largely dominated by single-family homes. The project occupies a relatively flat, 6.4-acre (2.6-hectare) site studded with mature oak trees.
The complex was designed by local studio Office of Jonathan Tate, or OJT, which has created a number of affordable housing projects in New Orleans.

The Bastion project is meant to offer a "protected but inclusive and thriving live-work environment" for post-September 11 combat veterans and their families. A large portion of the units are set aside for low-income residents. The design follows the "intentional neighbouring" model devised by Generations of Hope, a non-profit organisation focused on creating housing developments occupied by foster children and their caregivers, along with seniors who receive discounted rents in exchange for volunteering.
The group's first site, Hope Meadows in Illinois, opened in 1994 and has influenced similar developments, such as the Bastion Community.

"Bastion adapts the potential of intergenerational communities to fill a gap in public and privately developed veteran housing programs," said OJT in a project description.
While conceiving the Bastion design, ...