Photographs: Adrien Williams & Gorgin Fazli
Architects: StudioPractice www.studiopractice.ca
H67 / StudioPractice
Habitat 67, an iconic architectural
landmark not only in North America
but also across the world, marked a
beginning. The beginning of an organic,
dynamic and democratic residential
space, where every citizen has its own
unique light and space.
This beautifully designed and executed
masterpiece catapulted the carriers of
Moche Sadie and his team, and inspires
architecture ever since. This influence
can be found in Ricardo Boffil’s kafka
castle (1968), Kisho Kurokawa’s Nkagin
Capsule Tower (1972) and even recently
in BIG’s mountain Dwelling (2008).
Our project consisted of refurbishing a
Habitat 67 unit that was remodeled many
times in the past, adding layers of opacity
to the original design. As a result, our
primary challenge was to renew with its
past design philosophy.
Functional but minimal design of open
space was hence chosen as a medium to
obtain this concept. This was obtained by
removing all interior walls to optimize
light management and by adding
transparency and reflection of glass to
the exposed original cement walls.
A modern touch of moving cubes were
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introduced in the interior design of the
apartment, recalling the fact that these
hanging boxes attain equilibrium, in
the background of moving water. A
conversation between inside and out was
consequently restored, in this modern
times version of hanging gardens.
Integrating the qualities of a suburban
home into an urban high-rise, through
a medium of prefabricated forms was a
revolutionary concept that rethought the
apartment-building design in 1967; and
we revived this concept, in a weightless
and panoramic environment of hanging
concrete, in 2015.