Habitat 67

Interesting facts

According to Safdie's firm, the first models of Habitat 67 were built from Lego bricks, and later versions were tested in Lego as well.

Safdie's thesis on the idea failed to win the Pilkington Prize for the best thesis at Canadian architecture schools, an early sign of how divisive it would be.

The structural engineer was the Estonian-American August Komendant, a pioneer of prestressed concrete.

Each home is made of one to eight of the identical concrete boxes, and private terraces range from roughly 20 to 90 square metres.

Every apartment was originally fitted with a moulded plastic bathroom and a modular kitchen, in keeping with the idea of factory-made housing.

During Expo 67 the complex served as a temporary residence for many of the dignitaries who came to visit the fair.

Expo 67's theme, "Man and His World", came from the French title of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's memoir Terre des hommes, and housing was one of its main subjects.

Leonard Cohen filmed the music video for his song "In My Secret Life" at Habitat 67.

In 2023 Safdie Architects and Epic Games modelled the complete, much larger original vision of Habitat in Unreal Engine.

Safdie's hope of cheap mass housing did not come true: demand made the apartments far more expensive than planned, and further phases were never built.

Why it is worth it

On a spit of land in the St. Lawrence River, opposite Old Montreal, hundreds of concrete boxes are stacked at angles into three stepped hills, so that the roof of one home becomes the garden of the next. Habitat 67 was conceived by the architect Moshe Safdie, who developed it from his master's thesis at McGill University, as an answer to a simple question: how to give the residents of a dense city the light, air, privacy and gardens of a suburban house.

The complex was built as a pavilion and housing showcase for Expo 67, the World's Fair held in Montreal from April to October 1967. It is made of 354 identical prefabricated concrete modules, each about 11.7 by 5.3 by 3 metres. Combined in different ways, they originally formed 158 apartments, now 146 homes of varying sizes, rising up to twelve storeys. Each home has at least one private garden terrace laid out on the roof of the unit below, and the stacking leaves gaps through which light and views pass between the blocks. Safdie's original scheme was far larger, with around 1,200 homes, but the budget allowed only a fraction to be built. The project made his reputation, launching a career of more than 75 buildings and master plans worldwide.

After the fair Habitat 67 remained a residential building. In 1985 the federal housing agency sold it to a limited partnership formed by its tenants, who still own it, and in 2009 it was designated a heritage monument. It stands on the Cité du Havre peninsula, part of the grounds of Expo 67, next to the Marc-Drouin Quay. Montreal, the largest city of Quebec and the second largest in Canada, grew up on an island at the meeting point of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa rivers.

Getting there

Habitat 67 stands on Avenue Pierre-Dupuy on the Cité du Havre, about 2 km from the centre of the Ville-Marie borough and Old Montreal. The nearest airport is Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport (YHU), about 10 km away; the city's main international airport, Montréal–Trudeau (YUL), is about 16 km away.

From the encyclopaedia

Habitat 67, or just Habitat, is a housing complex at Cité du Havre, on the Saint Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian-American architect Moshe Safdie. It originated in his master's thesis at the School of Architecture at McGill University and then an amended version was built for Expo 67, a World's Fair held from April to October 1967. Its address is 2600 Avenue Pierre-Dupuy, next to the Marc-Drouin Quay. Habitat 67 is considered an architectural landmark and a recognized building in Montreal.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Habitat 67

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

On these lists

From the encyclopaedia