Habitat 67

Habitat 67

1. What is it?

‘Habitat 67’ is a housing complex situated in Montreal next to the Saint Lawrence River. It is a very spectacular and famous building connected with nature. It was a considerable challenge to face the population density in the city. Basically it consists of prefabricated cubes arranged in a certain way. All together, it provides 148 flats, most of them consisting of 3 cubes. However, the initial project was more ambitious. The architect’s aim was to build 1000 flats and to make them affordable. Both objectives have failed: there was a cut in the budget provided by the federal government and we find occupants coming from the upper class, which was not the initial purpose. The interior design is rather luxurious. Every flat has its own private terrace. Their price varies but a standard one costs at least $500.000. What is remarkable is that the complex seems to be floating because of the cubes and the suspended terraces. It is in the city but still very quiet. As a resident said, it is a very “special place to live”.

2. A bit of history: Habitat 67 and the World Exposition 1967

This building complex was erected for a special occasion: the holding of the World Exposition in Montreal, Canada. The World Expositions are events celebrating culture, art and diversity all over the world. An Exposition happens (on average) every four years, each time in another chosen city. Many people are only aware of the impact of the Expositions because some famous « hints » are still visited in our contemporary world and routine. Among these hints, we find some of them nearer than we think: the Eiffel Tower in Paris (from the Expo 1889) or the Atomium in Brussels (from the Expo 1958). The World Exposition of Montreal took place in 1967, which gave the numbers « 67 » to the building’s name. ‘Habitat 67’ was indeed an integral part of one of the biggest World Expositions. This incredible structure was also one of the pavilions of the exhibition. It served as a ‘place to live’ for the dignitaries who came to admire the exhibition but also as a curiosity for the common visitors.

3. Unique architecture and success of the building

The architect of the building is Moshe Safdie. He was born on 14 July 1938 and comes from Palestine. During his youth he moved out to Montreal. He studied architecture there and graduated in 1961. He was only a student when he came up with his incredible project. “Habitat 67” was actually a creation only aiming to be shown during the “Expo 67”.  It received an enormous and unexpected success and became so famous that Safdie has remained a veritable source of inspiration to this day.

The architecture of the building is quite unusual and noteworthy because of its originality. The building is characterized by a modern urban architecture which involves flat roofs, large windows and the creation of open-spaces. Finally the renowned building is enjoyed by photographers from all over the world, who love or-ganizing photo shoots there (for instance of Celine Dion). It has also been a subject of interest for film directors. Indeed we can see an apparition of it in Leonard Cohen’s clip video “In my secret life”.

4. Conclusion

As a conclusion we’ve seen that Habitat 67 was a considerable building due to its project and originality, and it is as well a source of inspiration. Therefore it is an icon of Anglophone culture.

Chloé Bocquet, Alice Marchal, Chloé Olivier

Sources:

- https://www.safdiearchitects.com/projects/habitat-67
- http://www.habitat67.com/hommage/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat_67- https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/500313/habitat-67-architecture-hippie-cinquantenaire