Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ‘67 as Showpiece of Expo ‘67
Image 1Habitat '67 along the St. Lawrence River
Source: Wendy Kohn
At a glance of the structure along the Marc-Drouin Quay on the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal (Image 1), one might be reminded of the coastal cities of the Mediterranean, or perhaps a South American hill village. Although it is similar to such dwellings, this structure is in fact Habitat ‘67, the main pavilion of the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, or Expo 67.
Image 2Expo '67
Source: http://expo67.ncf.ca
Image 3Habitat '67 unit detail
Source: Wendy Kohn
The three-dimensional urban housing concept (Image 2, Image 3) located on an invented peninsula, “la Cité du Havre”[1] was built out of the idea of the (then 24 year-old McGill University student) architect Moshe Safdie’s 1961 Master’s thesis design project and report "A Three-Dimensional Modular Building System" and "A Case for City Living"[2].
Its “post-Cubist geometry and its dual privileged relationship with the city and with nature signaled a new way of building and of dwelling”[3], as well as an important contribution to the study of “Man in the Community”[4].
Throughout the duration of the Expo, Habitat ‘67 became an exhibition showpiece and was invaded by thousands of admiring visitors that came from all around the world as if it were a “point of pilgrimage”[5]. It has also been the temporary residence of many public figures passing by Montreal.
Although Habitat ‘67 had become “the soul of the Fair”[6], it truly was, and still is an event in itself. It “continues to conjure up a desirable vision of urban living that excites the imagination”[7] and dream of an ideal home.
As the exposition was held within an historical movement of liberalization, Expo ‘67 was entitled “Man and His World” after a book written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry[8]. The 60s were also a time of dreams – NASA Space Age technology inspired many innovative inventions such as the calculator and the ATM. The architectural structures of Expo 67 all shared common themes of housing, optimism, utopia, and “man in control” [9], as they created spaces for social gathering.
The achievement of Expo being one of the world’s largest universal expositions, revealed Canada as being a major component in the cultural realm. “For a moment, Montreal became a great world city where architects, artists, musicians, filmmakers, builders and public officials converged from around the world and joined forces with Canadians from every province.”[10]
During the exhibition, select people had the privilege to live within the pavilion.
An interview with the Peters family from the Weekend Magazine on August 18, 1967 communicates the excitement of living in a concrete box.
“Everybody gets a kick out of coming to Habitat and we enjoy it. After all that's why we moved in”[11] exclaims Mr. Peters, while Mrs. Peters enjoys watching Expo visitors and their reaction to Habitat.
"Every so often I will hear someone say that it is just an experimental exhibit and that nobody really lives here. I always speak up and tell them I live here and that it is wonderful."[12]
Habitat still houses residents and “is the only structure still used for the very purpose for which it was built”[13]. Today in purchasing at Habitat ‘67, residents become a ‘Special Partner’ of a ‘Limited Partnership’[14]. Some Special Partners lease their residences for different periods of time but most have been Habitat veterans for over 25 years since the Limited Partnership purchased the building from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 1985.
Habitat is the creation of Moshe Safdie, who came with his family from Israel to Montreal when he was a teenager in 1955. Safdie, born of the socialist ideals of the 1960s, believes that “high density living can and should be a lot more fun than it is in today's conventional, box-like apartment buildings” which he considers “unfit for human consumption.” [15] Safdie’s thesis housing project explored new solutions to urban design challenges and compact, high-density living. The concept drew upon earlier 20th century models, which were envisioned as an ideal model for urban living. At the time he was writing his thesis for Habitat, Safdie was influenced by “Van Eyck and Rudofsky’s explorations of vernacular clustering and some sketches Le Corbusier did in 1922 for an apartment structure called Immeubles Villas”[16] (Image 4), which was composed of checkerboard structures with gardens in the voids. The other fashionable model of the period and inspiration for Safidie was the similarly close-packed, high towers of Mies van der Rohe, which emphasized a uniform envelope containing the clustering of dwellings within.
Image 4Le Corbusier’s drawing for Immeubles Villas
Source: Architectural Record, July 1992
Image 5Habitat ‘67 garden terrace
Source: www.habitat67.com
The environmental feature of habitat demonstrates Safie’s desire to offer a “fragment of paradise to everyone”[18]. The garden terraces (Image 5), which are located on the roof-tops of underlying residences, express Safdie’s life-long commitment to creating wholesome and dignified living environments. Safdie strives to accommodate better living for the average family by creating a complete environment, providing them with privacy, their own garden, fresh air, sunlight, and a sense of identity within each home. According to Wendy Kohn, author of a complete account of Moshe Safdie’s architectural works, Moshe Safdie,
“Habitat 67 is the amazing accomplishment of Moshe Safdie’s youth. The principal quality of Moshe Safdie’s entire work is to confer to things a character of eternity. He puts emphasis on architecture’s daily life: the way spaces are used, the performance of the building in its climate, the real desires of future residents. In many ways, the essence of his work is a dichotomy: at the same time tearing and meditation between the universal and the specific, between the ideal and the real.”
Moshe Safdie other well-known structures built within Canada include The Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal, The National Art Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the Vancouver Library Square in Vancouver.
Aside from inspiration from previous built models, Habitat “emerged out of the belief that the method of construction generates the architectural language”[19]. Just as mud bricks formed the vaulting of Nubian houses, and wooded truss construction that of Japanese public buildings, Safdie’s Habitat was “a by-product of the assembly of large-scale, three-dimensional prefabricated structural elements.”[20]
Safdie's thesis concept for Habitat was transformed over the course of several years and resulted in two distinct projects. The first was known as the original scheme and th second as the built scheme, or Phase I, of Habitat '67. The original scheme proposal consisted of one 12-storey section and one 22-storey section, totaling 1200 housing units, a 350-room hotel, a neighborhood shopping area, and two schools. This scheme was projected to cost $42 million. When the proposal was presented to the Cabinet of the Government of Canada for approval for the primary theme exhibit of Expo ‘67, they decided to approve on the idea but only to build a small part of the proposal to meet their drastically smaller $13.5 million budget. Instead, a 12-storey section plan of 158 housing units became Phase I of Habitat ’67. The cost would cover large initial equipment costs such as cranes, as well as the cost of development of construction and handling techniques.
The completed structure consists of pre-fabricated south-east or south-west facing rhomboidal concrete boxes that step back in spiral formation to form roof gardens for each unit. The membranes rest on large A-frame supports (Image 6), which enclose pedestrian streets every three floors. Large gaps between these A-frames allow sunlight and air to pass through voids between the spiral housing clusters and reach the public areas below.
Image 6Habitat '67 A Frames
Source: Wendy Kohn
Image 7Habitat '67 cross-section
Source: Wendy Kohn
Safdie chose the cube as the “base, the mean and the finality of Habitat ‘67” as it symbolizes “stability, wisdom, truth, and moral perfection”[21]. These pre-cast load-bearing cubes make up the units. They rest on top of one another, and carry the major part of the load through the walls and the piers (Image 7). The vertical elevators, stair cores and the streets, which are 10 feet high and contain mechanical services within them and pedestrian circulation on top of them, also give structural support to the entire building. The units are connected to each other by bolting and post-tensioning while the street units are constructed of sections, which are post-tensioned to form one unit. After pre-casting of the units, they were taken to a finishing area where all components and fixtures were installed in an assembly-line method. All pre-made bathrooms and kitchens were then installed followed by the roofs. The unit - weighing 70-90 tons[22] - was then lifted into place by crane (Image 8). The dwellings of habitat vary in size from a one-bedroom single-storey, to a four-bedroom two-storey. Each unit has its “own plumbing and service connections, so that they can easily be sold as individual units using the condominium method.”[23] Each garden is provided with planters, which are automatically irrigated and fertilized from a central water source. The occupants may choose flowers and shrubs to suit their tastes.
Image 8Habitat '67 construction with cranes
Source: Wendy Kohn
Although Habitat ’67 has been extremely successful in serving its purpose as a housing community, it has strayed from its original goal as a prototype for moderate-cost urban housing. “At 20 units to the acre it had achieved the site density of traditional row housing, and at 8 to 10 times the cost of the latter it placed itself far beyond the reach of the clientele at CMHC [Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation].”[24] This proved Safdie’s design to be an un-economical approach of producing mass housing. After all, Habitat never did reach its intended inhabitants. Habitat is incapable of the five or six time density possible of standard high-rise apartments. Some have suggested that if Habitat were to house the “less favoured” population, it would not have lasted as long as it has, as it would have become a site of menace and vandalism.[25]
Instead, Habitat ‘67 units became popular to the middle and upper class, as the dwellings were just as desirable as the conventional apartment building penthouse. According to the Weekend Magazine article, living at Habitat in 1967 cost the Peters family $470 rent each month, while rents during Expo ranged from $330 to $750. Today members of the partnership continue to live in or rent out their units as well as give back to the community through hosting professional and public events.
Safdie claims that his blueprint for economical housing could be affordable to a larger percentage of the public if only the cost of factory technologies were amortized, though he does admit, “the gardens, privacy, and open-air streets do not come cheap, no matter how efficient the technology.”[26]
The combined use of a three-dimensional urban structure using the specific construction technique of prefabrication and mass-production of prototypal modules, and the adaptability of these methods to various site conditions was intriguing and appealing to many architectural corporations. Following the impact of his thesis idea, Safdie was also commissioned to design other Habitats around the world; New York: 1967, Puerto Rico: 1968, Israel: 1967, Rochester: 1971, and Tehran: 1976, all of which were never completed.
No one anticipated the success of Expo ‘67 so when it was over, the “issue of what do with the site was the subject of many newspaper debates and articles.”[27] By October of 1967, Mayor Jean Drapeau announced an exhibition called “Man and His World”, the theme of Expo ‘67, would be permanently located in Montreal for the years to come. All of the national pavilions and structures that were built for the Expo would be integrated into this exhibition. The new exhibition officially opened in 1968 but despite its potential it was not as successful over the years as was hoped. Buildings began to deteriorate and were deemed unsafe over time, which prompted the close of the “Man and His World” exhibition in 1981.
Habitat ‘67 still shines brightly, more than 40 years after its creation. It is without a doubt one of the only modern utopic visions that was materialized by becoming a popular success as well as a “prestigious address”[28] by combining shelter with all the attributes of modern life. Its fundamental genius is indeed commended by both the architectural and the urban planning realms, by the public in general, and especially by its residents.
Despite its high-density design, residents find they do identify with their unit as Moshe Safdie predicted.
"We can walk right around it and feel it belongs to us. You can't do that in an ordinary apartment building," said Mrs. Peters.[29]
Habitat was the first of its kind; it was not just an experiment. "A lot was learned here about the building and housing people and that's exactly why it was built."[30]
Residents are able to create their own world to their image while Moshe Safdie continues to intervene and give his advice on the renovation projects of the residents in order to keep the architectural integrity and serenity of the complex. Habitat ‘67 became not only the “place to be” for singles, couples and families, but as well a real community of which the quality of life and style are envied throughout Canada. “Since its inception, Habitat has been an innovative, controversial, emotion-generating enterprise, an enterprise that has succeeded admirably in demonstrating the enduring power of an original idea.”[31]
[1] “Habitat '67." Habitat 67. 9 May 2009 http://www.habitat67.com: French for Habitat
[2] "McGill University." Habitat ‘67. 8 May 2009
[3] McGill Website.
[4] "Expo '67." Habitat. 8 May 2009
[5] Baker, Joseph. "Inhabiting Habitat." The Canadian Architect 42(1997): 30.
[6] Churchill, E.. "Habitat '67 Phase I." Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) 42(1965): 6.
[7] Baker, 30.
[8] Expo 67 Website.
[9] Safdie, Moshe. "Habitat at 25." Architectural Record 180(1992): 41.
[10] Safdie, Moshe. "In Habitat." The Canadian Architect August(2007): 50.
[11] Quig, James. "Habitat, Home is a Concrete Box." Weekend Magazine 19 August 1967: Online.
[12] Quig
[13] McGill Website
[14] Habitat ‘67 website
[15] Quig
[16] Kohn, Wendy. Moshe Safdie. London: Academy Group Ltd., 1996, 40.
[17] Kohn, 40.
[18] Habitat ‘67 Website
[19] Safdie, Moshe. "Habitat at 25", 41
[20] Safdie, Moshe. "Habitat at 25", 41
[21] Habitat ‘67 Website
[22] Expo ‘67 website
[23] Churchill, 47.
[24] Baker, 30.
[25] Baker, 30.
[26] Safdie, Moshe. "Habitat at 25", 41.
[27] " Library and Archives Canada." Exhibitions: Expo ‘67. 8 May 2009
[28] Habitat ‘67 Website
[29] Quig
[30] Quig, Mr. Peters
[31] McGill Website
Bibliography and Works Cited
- Adams, AnneMarie. "Learning from Expo." The Canadian Architect August(2007): 40-42. Print.
- Baker, Joseph. "Inhabiting Habitat." The Canadian Architect 42(1997): 30. Print.
- Churchill, E.. "Habitat '67 Phase I." Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) 42(1965): 46-48. Print.
- Kohn, Wendy. Moshe Safdie. London: Academy Group Ltd., 1996. Print.
- Quig, James. "Habitat, Home is a Concrete Box." Weekend Magazine 19 August 1967: Online.
- Safdie, Moshe. Beyond Habitat. Montreal: Tundra Books, 1970. Print.
- Safdie, Moshe. "Habitat at 25." Architectural Record 180(1992): 40-41. Print.
- Safdie, Moshe. "In Habitat." The Canadian Architect August(2007): 50. Print.
- "Habitat '67." Habitat 67. 9 May 2009
- "Expo '67." Habitat. 8 May 2009
- "McGill University." Habitat ‘67. 8 May 2009
- " Library and Archives Canada." Exhibitions: Expo ‘67. 8 May 2009
Gruss aus Bregenz, Austria, posted May 1888.
Source: Richard Carline
The Eiffel Tower; produced for posting at the summit for the Paris Exhibition, 1889,
and The Eiffel Tower; Coloured Engraving; c. 1890.
Source: Richard Carline
I have also observed that cities such as Rome, that have a multitude of tourist attractions spread throughout the city, tend to follow the multi-view trend of postcard composition (Image 7). This way, many, or all attractions can be displayed upon a tiny five by seven piece of card paper (Image 8). Tourists can then either use these views as a physical memory of the locations they visited, or as proof to a friend, family member, or themselves, that those attractions must exists in reality. These multi-view postcards create a kind of summary of the popular tourist attractions of a city or region.
33(3) (2009) 334-354. Web.16 Jun 2009.
