Friday Photography

                              

This is a photograph of Moshe Safdie's famous Habitat 67. While Mr. Safdie has gone onto design other buildings like the Singapore Airport but Habitat 67 still remains one of his most famous buildings. It is located in Montreal and it was his first building based on his thesis while studying at McGill University.

It was envisioned as a revolutionary solution for high-density urban living that retained the benefits of suburban homes, such as private gardens and natural light. While by some the apartment complex was considered a success but it failed in its most primary goal, affordable housing.

                       Etsy           Instagram           Twitter           Redbubble           Zazzle 

Comments

  1. Habitat 67 caused a sensation in Canada at the time. I was 10 years old when it was displayed as part of Expo 67 in Montreal and yes, alas, it never lived up to its full potential as affordable urban residential design. Safdie later designed the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It's a breathtaking structure holding Canada's finest collection of art. I love its huge, soaring glass windows. But at the time it was built, the American Embassy was across the street so, as a security measure, the National Gallery's glass windows all had to be coated in some kind of shatterproof sealant as a preventive measure in case terrorists blew up the U.S. Embassy. Luckily that never came to pass.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fascinating building. I'd nver heard of it until now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! What a wild building! Thanks for sharing it and a little background, I've never heard of it before now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So cool!

    Jennifer
    https://curatedbyjennifer.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5/01/2026

    Amazing. Happy Friday friend. May it be full of joy and peace.
    rsrue.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Well I can see why it failed as affordable housing. If its popular than it's probably expensive!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very cool photo. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've seen this structure other places and I find it fascinating. I would think its irregularity would have made it more costly to construct. It's a wonderful photo!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting building. Be good as a jigsaw.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'd not heard of this building until now.
    Affordable housing remains a problem in many countries.

    Wishing you and your family every happiness for the new month of May.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  11. So interesting. That is one of those photos that you could look at for minutes just studying everything that is going on in that one single photo.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A very unique building and it makes for a wonderful photo. I wonder how many families it housed? I'm not a fan of high density living, but I can certainly see the need for it. Also interesting that it couldn't be done in a way to make it affordable.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such a unique building!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow that is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. As someone who grew up in New York City, I saw two immediate problems reading about Habitat 677: First, lack of public transportation (although I see this has been improved) and second, not in a walkable area. I do love the concept of the private terrace gardens built upon the roofs of the story below. Too bad it didn't live up to its original concept of affordable housing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love love love all the comments, every single one brings a smile to my face. Make sure you're not a no-reply blogger so I can write back!

Popular posts from this blog

Kitchen and Family Room: New Flooring

D's Amazing Race Party

Friday Photography