Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie at age 23 designed a modular housing project for the Montreal World Exposition of 1967 comprised of 354 identical concrete modules that became 158 apartments, stacked in a variety of combinations and connected by steel cables. The 38 by 17 foot units, weighing 90 tons each, were manufactured on site, cured, then outfitted with mechanical and electrical connections, windows, doors, bathrooms and kitchens, and then lifted by crane onto the 12-story structure to create Habitat 67. The residences, made of one to four units, vary in size and shape. Each module was set back a step from its closest neighbor, and the design promoted the maximum floor of air and natural light for each apartment. A roof garden accompanied each unit, and they were all connected by a series of walkways and bridges, with elevators for the top floors. As MHProNews has learned from archdaily, Habitat inspired later housing designs around the globe.
