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The duplex apartment that the architect Moshe Safdie designed for himself in his brutalist Habitat 67 complex in Montreal was opened to the public after a major restoration completed by his firm.
Known as the Moshe Safdie's Unit, the updated two-storey property is located on the 10th floor and occupies many of the 354 stacked prefabricated concrete "boxes" that make up the building.
Of the 158 houses in the complex, the residence was intended to serve as the residence of the Israeli-Canadian architect, but has been empty for years, resulting in damage and poor condition.
The renovation of the firm aimed to solve these problems, in accordance with the original aesthetics at the time of its completion, in order to be used for scholarly research or public tours.
Additional improvements have helped bring the apartment in line with contemporary standards for sustainability and energy conservation and protect it from the elements, although these features want to remain hidden.
The repairs were performed on the concrete exterior damaged by water from the block form of the residence. The walls have been stripped to allow new layers of insulation and waterproofing, which will allow the structure to better withstand the cold and harsh Canadian winters.
Inside, a restored wooden floor covers all the way, with thin openings between the boards to reduce the risk of deformation. The other pieces of wood on the property include the doors and a rail that surrounds the staircase, all complemented by the walls painted in bright white.
Safdie Architects has installed energy-efficient windows inside existing large openings, which the company's founder designed to offer views of the river and Montreal.
The kitchen cabinets and white moldings in the bathroom are also restored to their original state. In the kitchen, new appliances are hidden in the cabinets.
The Safdie unit is punctuated with three terraces, one of which starts from the main living room of the lower floor and a third which lies between the volumes from the bedroom to the upper floor. Each is accessed by sliding glbad doors that retract into the walls and is covered with a slatted wooden decking.
Last year, 50 years had pbaded since Habitat 67 was introduced by Safdie at the 1967 World Expo in Montreal. The project, which launched the career of the architect, is now considered a key example of brutalist architecture – the controversial style of the twentieth century that has since back in favor.
Safdie Architects is also working on a continuous full restoration of the Habitat 67 exterior for his birthday, while photographer James Brittain has celebrated the occasion with images that give a glimpse of everyday life inside the building.
A number of inhabited residences have also been recently renovated. These include the redesign of a two-story home from the Canadian design studio EMarchitecture and a transformation led by Rainville Sangaré that includes showers with changing color screens.
The photograph is by Marc Cramer and Thomas Miau.
Project credits:
Group project: Sean Scensor, Matt Longo, Reihaneh Ramezany,
Contributors: Ghislain Bélanger, local architect
Contractor: Fairmont Construction
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