Friday, February 27, 2009

What is it? Edition 2 - solution

Charles took very little time with his guess. It is Habitat '67, which was built as part of the Expo in Montreal in 1967.

Housing was one of the main themes of Expo 67. Habitat 67 was the temporary residence of the many dignitaries coming to Montreal, then became a thematic pavilion visited by thousands of visitors who came from around the world.

Habitat intended to integrate the diversity of scattered private homes with the economics and density of a modern apartment building. Modular, interlocking concrete forms define the space. The project was designed to create affordable housing built close together but still offering privacy, each equipped with a garden. Habitat predicted the lifestyle people would live in increasingly crowded cities around the world. Originally meant to be vastly larger, ironically the units are now quite expensive due to its architectural cachet.

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