BOZEMAN - Inspired architecture breathes new life into small towns across Montana. Laying the groundwork in nearly every corner of the state is Montana State University's student-run Community Design Center, which marks its 50th anniversary this year.

Whether it's a Boys and Girls Club in Sidney, a downtown revitalization in Big Sandy or a fire station in Ronan, the CDC helps Montana towns create a clear vision for new community structures before the towns approach a professional firm and bring their designs to life. This equates to roughly 50 projects in as many years since former professor Bill Semple founded the CDC in 1976.

"This really helps students become better communicators, more empathetic designers and more effective leaders who understand that the strongest projects are built through shared expertise," said CDC director Jordan Zignego.

In the past five years, more than 150 seniors studying environmental design in MSU's School of Architecture have participated in the CDC's studio class, which simulates a professional architecture firm with real clients. Students visit a town throughout the fall semester to conduct community outreach, gathering data that will inform their proposed designs and presentations to community leaders. Montana towns then use the student work to show professional architecture firms they can reduce the time and money spent on initial stages of the project, having already developed a community consensus on their design needs with the CDC.

When the program began, its projects stretched nationwide, from Alaska to North Carolina, Zignego said. By focusing on Montana communities within the last few decades, the CDC facilitates deeper connections between students and the communities they serve. Some designs have even earned national awards, such as a master plan for development on the Rocky Boy's Reservation near Havre that received the American Institute of Architects' 2006 Institute Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design. It included greenways and rerouting the entry point for the reservation.

The CDC's most recent undertaking, a library and community center in Manhattan, has completed its conceptual design phase with Bozeman-based firm 45 Architecture and Interiors, and it will enter the fundraising stage. The multi-use space, located in the southcentral Montana town of just under 2,300 people, will include a library, senior center and events space. The current services are housed in separate buildings - the public library sits within Manhattan's high school - with limited space for future growth, said Traig Howells, who grew up in Manhattan and serves as its mayor.

For their new space, community members sought accessibility for those with mobility issues, outdoor spaces, vibrant interior art and plentiful daylight to maximize energy efficiency. Each request arose when students compiled public comments in 2025.

Howells said he was struck by the energy students brought to their outreach process, which would normally be a significant undertaking for Manhattan leaders.

Students visited Manhattan five times as a group and met with community leaders an additional 10 times during their first semester. They hosted several interactive sessions where residents and community leaders could share their values.

"They touched upon all the things that were important to us," Howells said. "They didn't say, 'Oh, well, they don't know what they're talking about. We're going to do this.' They were truly engaged in listening to us and then putting it together."

The challenge was to balance those community needs with space and budget constraints, said Trevor Ostrenga, who will pursue his master's degree in architecture from MSU in the fall. His team created four design options, with detailed mockups of accessible parking, interior elements and building materials that blended well with Manhattan's existing industrial and brick architecture. Ostrenga and his partner devised a two-story building with a sprawling library, easy access to a nearby park and a coffee shop for an additional gathering space.

Their initial design was divided into four connected buildings until committee members suggested consolidating the different spaces under one roof. Ostrenga said he was attached to his idea at first but soon realized Manhattan's feedback was better suited to bringing residents of all ages together.

Ostrenga, who was raised in a family of contractors and architects in Stevensville, has seen firsthand how new buildings from outside developers can change a town's unique identity. He said Manhattan reminded him of home and the importance of incorporating community voices throughout the entire design process.

"All of my projects I've worked on have really focused on community because that was a big part of my childhood in a small town, this community identity," he said. "Before the CDC, I tried to do this to the best of my ability, but I knew there were so many different things I didn't understand. I thought joining a CDC, where I can meet clients who really need services, would be such a neat experience. And it was. It was just a great group of people working with the best intentions for a community."

Students also collaborated with faculty and peers in other disciplines at MSU to create their final product, including engineers, graphic designers and creative writers, Zignego said.

In the coming years, students will design a building addition for the Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum in Harlowton and create a document outlining architectural development guidelines for the city of Livingston, among other projects.

"High quality, meaningful design should belong to everyone," Zignego said.