diff --git a/src/Orchard/Environment/Extensions/Compilers/DefaultExtensionCompiler.cs b/src/Orchard/Environment/Extensions/Compilers/DefaultExtensionCompiler.cs
index 6f3afcce2..75d499fb4 100644
--- a/src/Orchard/Environment/Extensions/Compilers/DefaultExtensionCompiler.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard/Environment/Extensions/Compilers/DefaultExtensionCompiler.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ using System.CodeDom;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
+using System.Reflection;
 using Orchard.Environment.Extensions.Loaders;
 using Orchard.FileSystems.Dependencies;
 using Orchard.FileSystems.VirtualPath;
@@ -18,17 +19,20 @@ namespace Orchard.Environment.Extensions.Compilers {
         private readonly IProjectFileParser _projectFileParser;
         private readonly IDependenciesFolder _dependenciesFolder;
         private readonly IEnumerable<IExtensionLoader> _loaders;
+        private readonly IAssemblyLoader _assemblyLoader;
 
         public DefaultExtensionCompiler(
             IVirtualPathProvider virtualPathProvider,
             IProjectFileParser projectFileParser,
             IDependenciesFolder dependenciesFolder,
-            IEnumerable<IExtensionLoader> loaders) {
+            IEnumerable<IExtensionLoader> loaders,
+            IAssemblyLoader assemblyLoader) {
 
             _virtualPathProvider = virtualPathProvider;
             _projectFileParser = projectFileParser;
             _dependenciesFolder = dependenciesFolder;
             _loaders = loaders;
+            _assemblyLoader = assemblyLoader;
 
             T = NullLocalizer.Instance;
             Logger = NullLogger.Instance;
@@ -55,13 +59,30 @@ namespace Orchard.Environment.Extensions.Compilers {
                     }
 
                     // Add assembly references
+                    var addedReferences = new HashSet<string>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
                     foreach (var reference in dependencyDescriptor.References) {
                         var referenceTemp = reference;
                         var loader = _loaders.SingleOrDefault(l => l.Name == referenceTemp.LoaderName);
                         if (loader != null) {
                             var assembly = loader.LoadReference(reference);
-                            if (assembly != null)
+                            if (assembly != null) {
                                 context.AssemblyBuilder.AddAssemblyReference(assembly);
+                                addedReferences.Add(reference.Name);
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    // Load references specified in project file
+                    foreach (var assemblyReference in descriptor.References) {
+                        if (!addedReferences.Contains(assemblyReference.AssemblyName)) {
+                            var assembly = _assemblyLoader.Load(assemblyReference.AssemblyName);
+                            if (assembly != null) {
+                                context.AssemblyBuilder.AddAssemblyReference(assembly);
+                                addedReferences.Add(assemblyReference.AssemblyName);
+                            }
+                            else {
+                                Logger.Warning("Assembly reference '{0}' for project '{1}' skipped due to load error", assemblyReference.AssemblyName, context.VirtualPath);
+                            }
                         }
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/src/Orchard/Environment/IAssemblyLoader.cs b/src/Orchard/Environment/IAssemblyLoader.cs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..004d45ac3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Orchard/Environment/IAssemblyLoader.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+using System;
+using System.Reflection;
+using Orchard.Logging;
+
+namespace Orchard.Environment {
+    public interface IAssemblyLoader {
+        Assembly Load(string assemblyName);
+    }
+
+    public class DefaultAssemblyLoader : IAssemblyLoader {
+        public DefaultAssemblyLoader() {
+            Logger = NullLogger.Instance;
+        }
+
+        public ILogger Logger { get; set; }
+
+        public Assembly Load(string assemblyName) {
+            try {
+                return Assembly.Load(assemblyName);
+            }
+            catch (Exception e) {
+                Logger.Warning(e, "Error loading assembly '{0}'", assemblyName);
+                return null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/Orchard/Environment/OrchardStarter.cs b/src/Orchard/Environment/OrchardStarter.cs
index 885fa1a43..ebb44bead 100644
--- a/src/Orchard/Environment/OrchardStarter.cs
+++ b/src/Orchard/Environment/OrchardStarter.cs
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ namespace Orchard.Environment {
             builder.RegisterType<AppDataFolderRoot>().As<IAppDataFolderRoot>().SingleInstance();
             builder.RegisterType<DefaultExtensionCompiler>().As<IExtensionCompiler>().SingleInstance();
             builder.RegisterType<DefaultProjectFileParser>().As<IProjectFileParser>().SingleInstance();
+            builder.RegisterType<DefaultAssemblyLoader>().As<IAssemblyLoader>().SingleInstance();
             builder.RegisterType<HttpContextAccessor>().As<IHttpContextAccessor>().SingleInstance();
 
             RegisterVolatileProvider<WebSiteFolder, IWebSiteFolder>(builder);
diff --git a/src/Orchard/Orchard.Framework.csproj b/src/Orchard/Orchard.Framework.csproj
index 29a9e7ad1..3c0329da1 100644
--- a/src/Orchard/Orchard.Framework.csproj
+++ b/src/Orchard/Orchard.Framework.csproj
@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@
     <Compile Include="DisplayManagement\Shapes\ITagBuilderFactory.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Environment\Extensions\Loaders\RawThemeExtensionLoader.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Environment\Features\FeatureManager.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="Environment\IAssemblyLoader.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Localization\Services\DefaultLocalizedStringManager.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Localization\Services\ILocalizedStringManager.cs" />
     <Compile Include="Mvc\IOrchardViewPage.cs" />