The staggered Cubist blocks that face Montreal’s Old Port from a long spit in St Lawrence River belong Habitat 67.

This model community and housing complex is an enduring legacy of the bright modernism espoused by Expo 67 and was produced by Moshe Safdie as part of his McGill University Master’s thesis. He went on to design the new pavilion at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Habitat 67 comprises 354 identical, prefabricated concrete blocks arranged in various combinations, to produce 146 differently sized residences. The idea was to combine the benefits of suburbia – greenery, out-door spaces, greater privacy – but at urban densities with a lower price tag. In the latter the project failed, with the demand for the units putting them out well out of reach for most people.