Habitat 67

Safdie's design for Habitat 67 began as a thesis project for his architecture program at McGill University. It was "highly recognized" at the institution, though Safdie cites its failure to win the Pilkington Prize, an award for the best thesis at Canadian schools of architecture, as early evidence of its controversial nature. After leaving to work with Louis Kahn in Philadelphia, Safdie was approached by Sandy van Ginkel, his former thesis advisor, to develop the master plan for Expo 67, the world's fair that was set to take place in Montreal during 1967. Safdie decided to propose his thesis as one of the pavilions and began developing his plan. Safdie was awarded the project in spite of his relative youth and inexperience, an opportunity he later described as "a fairy tale, an amazing fairy tale." However, Safdie could only secure funding for a much reduced construction. This smaller development (about CA$22.4 million) was financed by the federal government, but is now owned by its tenants, who formed a limited partnership that purchased the building from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 1985. == Concept and design ==

Habitat 67 comprises 354 identical, The complex originally contained 158 apartments, reduced from the original vision of 1,200, The apartments each had a moulded plastic bathroom and a modular kitchen. Safdie's goal for the project to be affordable housing largely failed: demand for the building's units has made them more expensive than originally envisioned. The structural engineer for the project was August Eduard Komendant, an Estonian-American structural engineer and a pioneer in the field of prestressed concrete. The theme of Expo 67 was "Man and His World", taken from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's memoir (literally, 'world of man', though it was published under the title Wind, Sand and Stars). Housing was also one of the main themes of Expo 67. Habitat 67 then became a thematic pavilion visited by thousands of visitors who came from around the world, and during the expo also served as the temporary residence of the many dignitaries visiting Montreal. In March 2012, Habitat 67 won an online Lego Architecture poll and is a candidate to be added to the list of famous buildings that inspire a special replica Lego set. Lego bricks were actually used in the initial planning for Habitat; according to Safdie's firm, "initial models of the project were built using Lego bricks and subsequent iterations were also built with Lego bricks". Access Residents have private shuttle access to downtown Montreal, but access by foot is difficult. Guided tours are offered to the public. In 2023, the extension of the 777 Casino bus route of the began serving Habitat 67, providing the complex with public transport access for the first time. ==Legacy==

In 2017, Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp for the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 featuring the structure. In 2017, from June 1 through August 13, / The Shape of Things to Come, an exhibition at Centre de Design, , presented "archival images and objects from the project's origins with conceptual drawings, and models, bringing them together with plans for unbuilt iterations". of Expo 67, which was attended by over 50 million people during the six months it was open, Habitat 67 gained worldwide acclaim as a "fantastic experiment" and "architectural wonder". and has since become "a very successful co-op", However, The Guardian quoted The Walrus assessment of it as a "failed dream". ==In popular culture==

The music video for Leonard Cohen's song "In My Secret Life" was filmed at Habitat 67, as were scenes of the 1977 film The Disappearance. It appears on the covers of the 2003 album Velocity : Design : Comfort by American electronic/experimental rock act Sweet Trip and the 2012 album The North by Canadian indie pop band Stars. It also appears on the album cover of Landslide's Drum & Bossa / Buddah, his debut single from 1999 that was released on Hospital Records. ==Panorama==