One of the most iconic pieces of Canadian architecture is Habitat 67 – the residence built for Montreal’s Expo 67 by Moshe Safdie. Even after fifty years, the structure seems ahead of its time. Constructed of irregular interlocking concrete forms, the building has an excitement and playfulness that often seems lacking from Canadian architecture.
Image: Brian Pirie
Moshe Safdie designed this building when he was only 24, and its enthusiastic reception made him internationally famous. He returned to Israel after it was built to work in Jerusalem, but he continues to maintain an office in Toronto. He has produced other pieces of standout architecture in Canada, including Vancouver’s Library Square and the National Gallery of Canada.
Safdie’s style has gone through many changes. He apprenticed with Louis Kahn, the very influential architect whose buildings were mainly in the international, brutalist style: they used heavy concrete and emphasized monumentality. While Habitat 67 has a strong modernist debt to pay to Kahn, Safdie is more famous for his post-modernist work. He has been particularly influenced by the architecture of Jerusalem, and has attempted to create works that fit into that city’s rich history.
Although he achieved a lot of fame in the 60s and 70s, by the 80s his architectural star was beginning to decline. However, a re-assessment of his work is continuing, and many of his works continue to stand the test of time. Habitat 67 was originally designed as a way to create affordable, sustainable housing for city dwellers; however, since then, the units have become very expensive.
Safdie has not built any residential work since Habitat 67 in Canada. However, there is a new project on the horizon in Toronto: Parkside. Parkside will be built on Toronto’s largely deserted eastern waterfront, as part of a plan to revitalize the area. The building’s innovative design consists of a series of square-like shapes that are setback to allow for balconies that have no roof immediately above them.
However, the building is still in the preliminary design stages. The building has only been proposed, and all buildings being built on the Eastern waterfront must be assessed by a design review panel. Nevertheless, Safdie’s design is likely to pass relatively quickly into the selling phase, and when it does, it will be one of the premier new listings in the city. Anyone who buys a unit in it will likely find that their investment, particularly in the coming decades, has not been in vain.
Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca
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