Habitat 67
Architect: Moshe Safdie
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date Designed: 1961
Date Completed: 1967
Client/Owner: Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition
Size: 238,000 sq ft ( One- bedroom dwelling: 600 sq ft) (Four-bedroom house: 1,800 sq ft) (Module: 17 1/2′ x 38 1/2′ x 10 1/2′)
Number of Residential Units: 158
Description: Habitat 67 is made up of a single unit block that is thoughtfully arranged and organized. The arrangement creates different sized private spaces but is also allows for circulation and public spaces in which the residents of Habitat 67 can interact with one another. More specifically, the units are concrete rectangular volumes which were mass produced. Although each unit is identical, its arrangement makes each dwelling one of a kind. Each unit can be arranged to create a much larger dwelling and create spaces for private terraces. The arrangement of a unit also creates different views allowing residents to have their own unique experience within the Habitat 67 complex.
History: Moshe Safdie first designed Habitat 67 while he was still in school. Later on, he was invited to share his design in the 1967 World Exhibition. His initial idea was to aggregate about 1,000 units in his design. However, the government thought it was best to reduce the number of units in the complex. Architects were fascinated with his design because it was a “living sculpture.” It was also prefabricated which was a new concept during the 60’s. Architects were excited about this new idea. Many residents also thought Habitat 67 was a grand building. One of the elements that the residents appreciated the most was the idea of private and public or open vs enclosed spaces. However, since the building was one of its first, it was very expensive to build and to maintain. Some residents complained about how the concrete needed to be repaired often. Others also complained that they developed health issues due to the wet concrete that would hold mold.
Drawings:
Photographs:
Interesting: One of the elements that we find the most interesting is the form of the building. The form is made up of stacked and shifted units which creates multiple circulation spaces as well as different views throughout the complex.
Diagram sketches:
Research and Analysis
Sharing Verbs:
- Intersect: the units are intersecting or stacked on to one another creating its from. The stacked arrangement of units causes the private terraces to intersect with one another, making them less private.
- Mix: Each apartment has its own private terrace but the residents share a public experience through the views and interaction making the use mixed between public and private.
- Overlap: The vertical circulation takes part in the stairs and elevators that stop every fourth floor. The horizontal circulation is in the walkways that overlap with the units. In a way, the public walkways invade the residents’ privacy inside the units.
Conditions of Private/Personal Space: each unit dwelling has its own private terrace. However, the private terrace is challenged because other residents of the apartment complex can view into the private spaces. Since the building is arranged in a stacked and shifted manner, people living in higher units can see into other residents’ private terraces. There are also three public walkways that circulate around the units which creates less privacy.
Programmatic Arrangement: The units are layed out in a stacked manner. The units are aggregated along the vertical circulation, which are the 3 main elevators and stairs. They are also arranged accordingly to the horizontal circulation which is the walkways created on top of the residential units. Some of the public spaces are the residential decks and walkways. Some of the private spaces are the units itself and their gardens. Their are stairs that lead up to each individual apartment.
Impact of Site and Context: Habitat 67 was built on an island right across from the city, making the building surrounded by water on all sides. Each unit is arranged accordingly and has windows placed strategically so that the residents can have a view of both the water and the city. The arrangement also allows sunlight to enter equally throughout all of the units.
Structure and Materials:
- Concrete: the only major material used throughout the building. It creates a sense of unity within the separate dwellings. It is an element that is shared to all of the residents.
- Notched Structure: each stacked unit is connected to one another through a notch that is located at the top portion. The notch not only allows the units to be secured together but it also creates a visual intersection on the exterior. It seems as if the units are part of a whole and are meant to be fitted together like a puzzle.
Architectural Significance: Habitat 67 is significant because it was one of the first apartment complexes that was made up of prefabricated individual modular units. His design was used to help solve the problem of high density living in an urban environment. It had an impact on the way apartments are designed and thought out today.
Case Study Concept Models:
Case Study Detailed Model:
Hathaway Section - Spring 2020 
Ruth & Nataliya,
Very nice overall presentation of your research and assessment of the important aspects of the project. I got a good sense of the project, its history, and its significance from your post.
The one area I’m still fuzzy on is at the scale of how units aggregate specifically and relate to the circulation and public/private outdoor spaces (admittedly a big challenge to puzzle out in this project). I think your diagramming on the building section makes sense for the overall ideas of circulation to the units and terracing of the outdoor space for views/privacy. I’m curious to understand it better at the scale of somewhere around 6 units and in 3D (requiring both plan and section). Are there additional floor plans or diagrams you can find that would enable us to understand a chunk of the building in more detail?
– how is each unit configured?
– what is the circulation to it (the front door)?
– how do the interlocking spaces spaces relate to one another in 3D (primarily the exterior spaces, but also the windows into the units)?
There are a few other aspects of the design that you’ve touched on in your text that I’d like to see as preliminary diagrams on Wednesday:
– Arrangement: repetition or symmetry, if we think of the plan as a long zig-zag, 6 angled sections creating 3 “courts” on the side with the circulation, is there a symmetrical arrangement around each court? Is there an overall repetition to how units go together?
– Site and Context: Can you zoom out of a plan diagram to show graphically the solar access, views, and relationship to the city and water?
– Program: Looking at all the individual units might be a bit much and a bit off from where your interests lie, but when I look at the unit plan of the one unit you posted at a larger scale it’s one of the strangest apartment layout I’ve ever seen. Can you puzzle out how that or other units work or why they are organized in a particular manner?
I’m also wondering how this project relates to the ground and to its surroundings in section. Does it have a main point of entry or a connection to the site or is it a nondescript vehicular arrival and the “arrival” is when you reach the large pedestrian deck on the second level?
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