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Humanising Mega-scale Habitat 67

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‘Humanising Megascale’: Habitat 67
Nkemjika C. A. Morah
Level 5 . AD573
Tutor Ms Catalina Meja Moreno

AD573 Architectural Humanities 2 2018

Figure 1: Panaromic view of the Habitat 67 facade

INTRODUCTION summary of my main arguments, before presenting

Poised on the Marc-Drouin Quay by the Saint my conclusions on how much Habitat 67 contributed
Lawrence River is what was intended to be the to finding solutions to dealing with high-density
‘perfect combination between suburban life and structures.
city life.’ Habitat 67 is one of the most famous
structures of the 1960s, unorthodoxly shaped and BACKGROUND
structurally complex, it deviated from the traditional Born and raised in Haifa, Israel in 1938 to a Jewish-
60’s international architecture style for high-density Israeli family, Safdie spent much of childhood
structures. Designed by Moshe Safdie for the 1967 being active in his youth groups. In his book
World Exposition in Montreal, it was part of the ‘Beyond Habitat,’ he describes spending most of
short-lived megastructure movement. his summers in kibbutz1 work camps. There they
The purpose of this essay is to establish the success gave the children accommodation, food and access
of habitat 67. It will investigate the premise upon to their recreational facilities in return for a half-
which it was conceived and the effects on the day of work. This taught them to be independent at
quality of life for its inhabitants. I will reference a young age but also interdependent on their peers;
many of his books to understand his intention for the fifty or so girls and boys with whom they spent
Habitat 67, as well as cite other literatures that were their entire childhoods with. It was here in Haifa
written in response to this ‘Lego-megastructure’. A that Safdie developed his strong feelings towards
succinct description of Moshe Safdie’s upbringing the environment, which he later uses as a point of
and academic background will be given, as they reference for his designs.
informed various aspects of his design. An analysis
of how well Habitat 67 fulfilled Safdie’s key Safdie’s family begun to experience financial
principles will open the discussion on the level of difficulties in Haifa, and so his family relocated to
success the world and Habitat’s inhabitants believe Montreal, Canada. There, Safdie registered himself
Habitat 67 achieved. Finally, I will provide a in the McGill University architecture program. He
1 A kibbutz (Hebrew) is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in
1909.
 Figure 3: The Queen of The
United Kindom 1967

Figure 1: Expo67 post card

exceled in school and was selected, amongst others, ‘Man and his world,’ later clarified by Jean-Louis
to tour North America on a scholarship program. Roux4 who said, ‘Man, as opposed to corporations’
Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation2 exposed and ‘Man as opposed to nations.’5 It was this attitude
the students to numerous forms of public housing. that made expo initiate the Habitat 67 housing
This trip was instrumental in forming his ideas on experiment. Expo 67 was the most phenomenal
suburbia and was the catalyst for his final thesis, of Canada’s 100th anniversary celebrations. Over
“A Three-Dimensional Modular Building System,” 50 million6 visitors were in attendance, more than
which would later become Habitat 67. He graduated twice the nation’s population7. Acting as the central
in 1961 and went on to work for Sandy van Ginkel3 pavilion of this event was an adapted version of
and his wife for a year, before moving onto work Safdie’s McGill master’s thesis. The erection of such
with Louis Khan. It was during his brief time with an oddity served as an alternative to the standard
Kahn that Sandy van Ginkel surprised him in high-density tower structures commonly found
Philadelphia to ask if he would head the masterplan during that time.
team for the Montreal Exposition.
The theme for the 1967 Montreal Exposition was
2 CMHC funded the 1959 scholarship trip to Chicago, Levittown, San Francisco, Toronto and Philadelphia, where the students
looked at luxury housing, suburban housing and apartment complexes.
3 Ginkel, previously Safdie’s tutor, was at the time (1963) the deputy to Claude Robillard (First Director of Development at Expo 67).
4 Jean-Louis Roux, was a Canadian politician who was briefly the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec.
5 Jeremy Baker, “Expo and the Future City,” Architectural Review 142, (1967): 151
6 “Expo 67: Montreal Welcomes the world,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News Archives, accessed December 2018
[Link]
7 In 1966 20,014,880 according to
“Census population of Canada,” British Columbia Stats, last modified 24 April 2018.
[Link]
Figure 4: Construction site of Habiata 67

Figure 5: Habiata 67 opens to public Figure 6: Construction of Habiata 67

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS between areas of greenery and sunlight, leading you
In this section I will look at the extent to which through beautiful skylights and blissful terraces.
Safdie has managed to achieve what he intended The strategic placement of these pedestrian paths
for habitat 67, using his own design principles as brings the outdoors into the communal spaces. The
a touchstone for my analysis. Safdie intended to long street like corridors circulate traffic across
re-create in an urban setting the benefits of the the building horizontally, whilst three elevators
suburban single-family home. Each home had visual accommodate vertical circulation. Stopping every
and acoustical privacy and, like his own childhood fourth floor the elevators serve the horizontal
apartment in Haifa, he gave each dwelling its own pedestrian streets. The wide streets have large
private entrance and a personal piece of property. All meeting places encouraging residents to stop and
this was to be done at a lower-cost per unit so that it talk whilst their children play freely and comfortably
could serve as an affordable housing project. without obstructing the flow of movement. A
freedom which can’t be provided for by the narrow
His Principles corridors typically found in many apartment
In a 2013 lecture at the Skirball Cultural Centre8 dwellings. These semi-public communal streets
Safdie outlines his principles. The first of his provide a smooth transition from the very public
principles was that architects build and create with streets bellow to the very private homes. Covered
materials and thus, they are responsible for the parking is provided below the building for residents
resources and energy they consume. Learning to and the visitor’s parking space is located outside.
build more with less was important to him. Secondly, These amenities are common place in suburban
he quotes Louis Khan’s “let the building be what it homes but completely seldom of on the 6th floor of
wants to be,” because he believes that one should an urban apartment block.
capture “the sense of a building having its own These captivating passageways lead inhabitants
will”9. When people look at a building they are more to their own respective modular units which fall
concerned with whether the place is suited for its nothing short of looking and feeling like a home.
program. Asking questions like “Is that a wonderful In the book “Moshe Safdie: Building in Context,”
school, is that a wonderful museum, is that a a full description of Habitat 67 and the modular
wonderful place for the people in terms of people’s units is given. The structure is comprised of 354
experience.”10 Finally, understanding the uniqueness modular construction units, the twelve-storey
of place and program is key. He thinks that it is housing complex contains 158 residencies which
important to recognise the information offered by come in eighteen different styles. The apartments
both the place and the culture of the site. This allows range in size from 600-square-feet one-bedrooms
you to build in a place that is foreign to you but still to 18000-square-foot four bedrooms. The entire
create a space that the people can appreciate. structure was built from single boxes measuring 17
The look and feel he attempted to create ½ feet by 38 ½ feet by 10 ½ feet high. As time has
Habitat 67 is probably one of Canadas’s most gone on residents have changed their homes creating
recognisable landmarks. The modular units were larger dwellings of six units. Today it is a world
prudently combined; pedestrian paths weaving heritage site and can no longer be altered.
8 Moshe Safdie, “Humanising Megascale,” filmed October 2013 at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, video, [Link]
[Link]
9 Moshe Safdie, “Humanising Megascale,” filmed October 2013 at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, video, [Link]
[Link]
10 Moshe Safdie, “Humanising Megascale,” filmed October 2013 at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, video, [Link]
[Link]
Figure 7: A janitor at work in Habitat 67

and fresh air penetrate the building. Creating wide

The functionality of Habitat 67 streets and green areas in the communal spaces
The life intended in Habitat 67 was meant to have added to this sense of openness. However, these
the social interactions and sense of community found large open areas created a variety of large empty
in villages whilst maintaining adequate privacy for dull spaces which would produce disturbing wind
tenants. Understanding how the residents utilise their effects. Moreover, a change in season translates
shared spaces will provide clarity on the state of to an adverse change in people sentiments towards
community in Habitat. Do residents really meet and these hallow areas. In sharp contrast to the summer
talk in the wide streets whilst their children play epic months, the grey and dull winter months push cold
games of ‘hide-and-go-seek.’11 Although designed to air through the structure, making it unpleasant
accommodate social interactions, popular imagery of to circulate in these spaces. Coupled with cold
the site displays little habitation of the public spaces. materiality of concrete and the absence of greenery
Safdie says “this sense of seclusion was achieved one can imagine the drastic change in atmosphere.
by the fact that the houses were free in space: they Walking up the numerous staircases during this
all opened in three directions.”12 The feeling of time and crossing the exposed accesses is a lengthy
seclusion created by the dwellings suggests that, process, consequently many areas of the building
there is little chance that people frequently use these are inaccessible for the less physically able. The
spaces. elevators only stop every fourth floor and thus
provide little assistance. The pedestrian circulation
Safdie also wanted to create a design that overcame within the building has major problems that
the sense of density that comes with living in should’ve been addressed from the drawing board
extraordinarily populated buildings. To do this, he and not after the fact.
fractalised the surface of the structure letting light

11 This a popular children’s game where any number of players hide themselves in a set place waiting to be found by the selected
seeker(s).
12 Moshe Safdie, Beyond Habitat, ed. John Kettle (Cambridge, MA: The M.I.T Press, 1970), 12.
Figure 8: Apartment Terrace Habitat 67 Figure 9: Inside Recently renovated apartment.

Other views and critiques of his work

Habitat 67 was meant to be a porotype for affordable Morris thinks that Safdie took himself far too
living however today it houses Montreal’s richer seriously, that for him to see his creation as “the
demographic, with the most current listing being basis of a solution for the universal urbanisation
advertised for CAN $899,00013. All prototypes problem,”16 is simply naive. Safdie felt his proposal
are generally quite expensive and thus a high fully realised could truly be transformative when
asking price for a one-of-a-kind apartment post coupled with a design concept that offered the
the megastructure movement is understandable. potential for growth. He believed that, much like
However even then, in 1967, its potential to ever be the way a nautilus17grows so should a city. The
produced at an affordable price were doubtful. A. E. nautilus grows spirally and proportionally to its body
J. Morris writes, “Safdie has designed ‘Rolls-Royce’ without having to destroy anything it had previously
housing and no matter how many were made there adapted, cities expanding in a similar way would
are irreducible factors keeping each on “X” times as be Safdie’s ideal. As a response to Habitat, Reyner
expensive as a perfectly serviceable Mini-Minor14.”15 Banham writes “Habitat was an illusion, a myth
Habitat failed to provide a satisfactory environment that prefabrication would ‘solve the crisis of the
at an economical cost. American City.’”18

13 “3-cube: Habitat ’67, 2600 Av. Pierre-Dupuy, Apt. 510, Ville-Marie, QC,” Sotheby’s International Realty, last modified
[Link] .
14 The Mini is a small economy car produced by the English-based British Motor Corporation.
15 Morris, A. E. J. “Habitat ‘67.” Official Architecture and Planning 30, no. 6 (1967): 813.
16 Morris, A. E. J. “Habitat ‘67.” Official Architecture and Planning 30, no. 6 (1967): 809.
17 “The nautilus is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae,” Google Dictionary, 2018.
18 Reyner Banham, Megastructures (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1967), 110.
Figure 10 : Habitat 67 Landscape photograph at dusk of Habitat 67

In fact, Banham is opposed to the entire Assessment by inhabitants Habitat 67

megastructure movement suggesting that they Ultimately one must look at the experiences of the
are simply an invention of the journalists and the tenants to determine the true impact of the building,
institutions of higher learning. He thinks so, mainly as they were the ones it was designed for. One of
because it is hard to see how it would have been the questions at the time was about whether there
born out of the normal pressures in everyday life; would be any privacy. According to the Architectural
the normal pressures found in the commercial, Journal many of the living rooms, roof-top terraces
municipal, transportation, etc, sectors. Banham and even bedrooms are overlooked from a close
continues his critique by stating that, Habitat 67 range. Contrary to commentary by many academics
“became academically viable as a fund-gathering “Habitat proves you can build high-density housing
mechanism for ambitious Deans and Chairmen of and still provide some measure of privacy,”20 says
Architecture… and ultimately it delivered almost Mr. Friedman. Pierre Teasdale21 had a similar view
nothing commensurate with the size of the myth point. He claims that “There’s lots of privacy. It’s
that had been built up.”19 He also believes that what halfway between a house and an apartment. And
Habitat offered wasn’t as radical as it may have there is incredible indoor privacy because the
been perceived to be. Suggesting that Safdie simple concrete boxes are so soundproof.”22 This first-hand
incorporated his pro-Mediterranean prejudices into sentiment was echoed yet again by 1967 tenant Mr.
his design, and since that was the widely spread Randall23 who claimed that he hadn’t really met
trend in architecture it was immediately accepted, anybody, and that he has good amount of privacy.
and potentially the most acceptable of the Montreal Mr. and Mrs. Randall spoke to CBC24 about their
megastructures. experience after a six months period of living at
19 Reyner Banham, Megastructures (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1967), 110.
20 “The Homey Feeling of Living in Boxes,” The Christian Science Monitor, accessed December 12, 2018.
[Link]
21 An architect and professor at the University of Montreal who has lived at Habitat for 10 years.
22 “The Homey Feeling of Living in Boxes,” The Christian Science Monitor, accessed December 12, 2018.
[Link]
23 Mr. Randall was official of the Ontario Department of Economics and Development
24 “Living in Habitat 67,” Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, accessed 2018
expo. They both said they enjoyed the it, commenting
on the beautiful scenery and even admitting to
considering living there had if they not been there as
guests, although Mr. Randall revealed that rent would
have been a factor. They did mention that concreate
exterior left their guest feeling cold and some even
suggested pop art as way to camouflage the greyness.
In response to this the commentator agreed as he
recalled the previous winter when he was there whilst
it was still under construction; he described it as
looking prison like in the absences of greenery.

[Link]
Figure 12: Habitat ’67, Montreal, 1967, Figure 13: Entrance to apartment in Habitat 67

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION the urban world. However, his ideas it did not
Designing quality apartments at an affordable cost proliferate.
for the expanding urban realm is a big challenge.
Moshe Safdie was resolved to find a solution, There are many potential factors as to why his
primarily focusing on how to marry the amenities project did not proliferate, but a few reasons
of the suburbs with conditions of the urban context. stand out. His project was a huge prefabrication
I have looked at his academic background and experiment that tested the limits production and
upbringing and studied the way they informed prefabrication. The decision to prefabricate the
the design decisions he made. It is important to modular units meant that the process was less labour
acknowledge that this was Moshe Safdie’s master’s intensive, and a more consistent standard were able
thesis which was later adapted to become Habitat 67. to be achieved in the factory. This was the most
In addition, he was able to achieve something that ideal method of production given the short time and
was very unorthodox and inspiring despite his young site constraints they were under. Although ideal for
age and lack of experience in the field. Expo, the conditions which this project was executed
under couldn’t be more distant from the realities of
Safdie primarily managed to accomplish what the standard building conditions of adorable housing
he set out to achieve. He was able to create the in the urban realm. The complex process of creating
look and feel of the suburban environment in the hundreds of perfricated boxes and transporting them
urban context. One area where he succeeded was to site for installation, cannot be easily carried out
in providing a good sense of privacy with the use by many of the municipalities where this type of
of thick concreate walls, this was confirmed by approach to architecture is necessary. Furthermore,
numerous tenants. Providing each apartment with the financial support given for the Habitat 67 project
a terrace that overlooked gardens and the river, is likely much higher than any budget that will ever
gave tenants the option to experience the outdoors be assigned for an affordable housings scheme.
from the comfort of their own home, which is
seldom found in regular apartment buildings. So, Secondly in today’s world, many governments
in this respect he succeeded in creating something and large enterprises are seriously taking into
that provided elements of both the suburban and consideration the adverse effects of their actions on
Figure 14: panoramas of Habitat 67

the environment. Constructing a large structure out experiment that ultimately failed to proliferate, and
of concrete for a current project would not align with this suggests that it didn’t make a significant enough
the necessary steps the world has to take to reduce its contribution to solving the high-density housing
current carbon footprint. The production of cement, problems.
the main ingredient in concreate, accounts for an
estimated five percent25 of global carbon dioxide “Humanising megascale is the single most urgent
(CO2) emissions and concreate was potentially task that awaits us in the decades to come,”27I
the heaviest material Safdie could have chosen. resonate with this statement by Safdie because the
Furthermore, in practice the cost of developing the world keeps growing and megacities keep emerging
prefabricated modules to such a high quality simply in numerous places. Experts say that an estimated
isn’t economical. Having “neatly incorporated warm 55% of the world’s population lives in an urban
air outlets around the perimeters… together with the area or city, and by 2050 the UN says that number
extremely high proportion of external wall, room will rise to 68%. As this trend continues to grow
and cantilevered floor areas”26 drove up the cost per architects must strive to find solutions that preserve
unit to the point where economies of scale would that quality of life within high-density structures.
have no considerable impact on cost. Furthermore, with towers being the dominant
building form in many cities, it is paramount that
If Safdie had provided a means to an answer in architects continue to challenge the typology
the creation of Habitat 67, aspects of his designs without falling prey to desire to create the ‘iconic’
would have been carried forward by others in the at the expense of quality life within the building.
architectural world. It is only Safdie himself, and Ultimately, my findings have led to me ask “What
Safdie Architects, who seem to be the ones using does the future hold for high-density living design in
Habitat 67 as a precedent for further study. I believe a rapidly growing environment?”
that Habitat 67 was a very ambitions and sensational
25 “Emissions from the Cement Industry,” State of the Planet, Colombia University, last modified May 9, 2012.
[Link]
26 Morris, A. E. J. “Habitat ‘67.” Official Architecture and Planning 30, no. 6 (1967): 813.
27 Moshe Safdie, “Humanising Megascale,” filmed October 2013 at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, video, [Link],
[Link]
Bibliography

Books
1. Albrecht, Donald, Sarah Williams Goldhagen, Moshe Safdie, Global Citizen: The architecture of
Moshe Safdie, 27-51. London, England: Scala Publishing, Ltd., 2010.
2. Banham, Reyner. “Megacity Montreal.” In Megastructure: Urban Futures of the recent past, 105-111.
London: Thames and Hudson, 1976.
3. Safdie, Moshe, David Kettle. Beyond Habitat. Cambridge, MA, and London: M.I.T. Press, 1970.
4. Safdie, Moshe, Building in Context, edited by Jun Watanabe. Tokyo: Process Architecture
Publishing. Co. Ltd, 1985.
5. Safdie, Moshe, For Everyone A garden, edited by Judith Wolin. Cambridge, MA, and London: M.I.T.
Press, 1974.
6. Safdie, Moshe, Moshe Safdie, edited by Wendy Kohn, 41-46. London: Academy Edition, 1996.

Journal article
7. Morris, A. E. J. “Habitat ‘67.” Official Architecture and Planning 30, no. 6 (1967): 808-13. http://
[Link]/stable/43963230.
8. Safdie, Moshe, and Ryan Dillon. “Moshe Safdie in Conversation with Ryan Dillon.” AA Files, no. 66
(2013): 114-25. [Link]
9. Sorkin, Michael. “Habitat and After.” In Some Assembly Required, 131-36. University of Minnesota
Press, 2001. [Link]

Websites
10. Moshe Safdie, “Humanising Megascale,” filmed October 2013 at Skirball Cultural Center, Los
Angeles, CA, video, [Link],
[Link]
11. Randall, Robin. “Living in Habitat 67 at Expo.” Interview by Bob McGregor.
12. Expodition, CBC, October 25, 1967.
Audio, 8:20. [Link]
13. Safdie Architects “Habitat 67 Unit’s Historic Restoration is Complete,” Published November 20,
2018
[Link]
14. Fred Langan “The Homey Feeling of Living in Boxes,” The Christian Monitor, accessed 2018.
[Link]
15. Reyner Banham, “Megastructures 5 – Part1,” AA School of Architecture, Published March 26 2015
[Link]

Images
- Cover : Marc Cramer and Thomas Miau 2018
- Figure 1:[Link]/Pictureview/67Montreal_Canada_Habitat_67_Panoramic_view.
html
- Figure 2 : [Link] [Link]/2013/09/15/expo/67_
- Figure 3 : © National Archives of Canada [Link]
- Figure 4 : Library and Archives Canada
- Figure 5 : Bill Cotter 05/1967
- Figure 6 : © National Archives of Canada [Link]
- Figure 7 : James Brittain photography
- Figure 8 :Marc Cramer and Thomas Miau 2018
- Figure 9 :Marc Cramer and Thomas Miau 2018
- Figure 10 : Marc Cramer and Thomas Miau 2018
- Figure 11: Section of Habitat 67. Unkown SourceW
- Figure 12 : Sam Tata, courtesy of Safdie Architects
- Figure 13: Unknown Photographer Photos via Sotheby’s International Realty
- Figure 14: Gabrieled, January 22, 2013 Montreal

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