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A citizen of Israel, Canada and the United States, Moshe Safdie was born in Haifa in 1938 to a Sephardic Jewish family of Syrian descent.[5] Safdie attended the Reali High School. He spent his summers in a Kibbutz, working the countryside.[6] He tended goats and kept bees. In 1953, the Israeli government restricted imports in response to an economic and currency crisis, severely impacting Safdie's father's textile business.[7] Consequently, at age 15, Safdie and his family relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Safdie completed pre-university training at Westmount High School.[8]
In September 1955 he registered in McGill University Faculty of Engineering's six-year architecture degree program. In his fifth year, Safdie was named University Scholar. The following summer, he was awarded the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Scholarship and traveled across North America to observe housing developments in major cities.[9] In his final year, Safdie developed his thesis: "A Three-Dimensional Modular Building System."[10] He received his degree in 1961.[11]
Career
Encompassing more than seventy-five completed buildings, communities, and master plans on three continents and an even greater number of projects and competition entries, Safdie's career has evolved in a series of distinct phases.[12]
In 1964, Safdie established his own firm in Montreal to undertake work on Habitat 67, an adaptation of his thesis at McGill University.[13]Habitat 67 was a central feature of Expo 67; it pioneered the design and implementation of three-dimensional, prefabricated units for living. Habitat 67 was created as a vital neighborhood with open spaces, garden terraces and many other amenities typically reserved for the single-family home, adapted to high-density urban environments[14] - an important development in architectural history. This seminal project launched the first phase of Safdie's work: A new kind of urbanism.
Safdie's twenty-first century projects - another milestone in his career - are characterized by greater geographic range, including the world's most dynamic emerging markets, and for being realized in shorter time spans at larger scales.[20] These landmark developments include: Marina Bay Sands, a mixed-use integrated resort with Singapore's iconic Skypark; Jewel Changi Airport, a new community-centric airport typology combining marketplace and garden; and Raffles City Chongqing, a mixed-use development featuring over one million square meters of housing, office, retail, transportation, and hotel programs. Creator of the world's longest 'Horizontal Skyscraper,'[21] Safdie and team are revolutionizing urban development and high-rise building typology with skybridges and multi-level connectivity.[22][23]
Presently, Safdie and his team are committed to solving contemporary building challenges within workplace, healthcare, and research centers, in imaginative and unexpected ways.[24]
Practice
Moshe Safdie is the Founding Principal and Lead Designer at Safdie Architects, founded in 1964 to prepare for the work on Habitat 67 for the Expo 67 in Montreal.[25] The firm's partners - many of whom joined Safdie after graduation - have been working together for decades.[26]
Within his office, Safdie formed a research program to pursue advanced investigation of design topics. The practice-oriented fellowship explores speculative ideas outside normal business practice constraints. Fellows work independently with Safdie and firm principals to formulate specific proposals and research plans. The salaried position is located in-residence, with full access to project teams and outside consultants. Past fellowships include Habitat of the Future, Mobility on Demand, and Tall Buildings in the City.[27]
Academia
In 1978, after teaching at McGill, Ben Gurion, and Yale universities, Safdie was appointed Director of the Urban Design Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design (GSD) and moved to Boston, Massachusetts. He served as Director until 1984. From 1984 to 1989, he was the Ian Woodner Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Harvard.[28] Safdie continues to work closely with the GSD, frequently teaching design studio; Notably, Rethinking the Humanist High-Rise (2019) and Rethinking Hudson Yards (2017).[29][30] Safdie regularly travels to, speaks at, and/or Chairs conferences engaged in industry-defining discussions on architecture and beyond.
Personal life
In 1959, Safdie married Nina Nusynowicz, a Polish-Israeli Holocaust survivor. Safdie and Nusynowicz have two children, a daughter and son, born during the inception and erection of Habitat 67. Just before the opening, Safdie and his young family moved into the development. His daughter Taal is an architect in San Diego, a partner of the firm Safdie Rabines Architects; His son Oren is a playwright who has written several plays about architecture.
In 1981, Safdie married Michal Ronnen, a Jerusalem-born photographer and daughter of artist Vera Ronnen. Safdie and Ronnen have two daughters, Carmelle and Yasmin. Carmelle is an artist, and Yasmin is a social worker.
Form & Purpose. Ed. John Kettle. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982.
Habitat Bill of Rights With Nader Ardalan, George Candilis, Balkrishna V. Doshi, and Josep Lluís Sert. Imperial Government of Iran Ministry of Housing, 1976.
The Moshe Safdie Archive, donated to McGill University by the architect in 1990, is one of the most extensive individual collections of architectural documentation in Canada.[32]