MOSHE SAFDİE (2)

MOSHE SAFDİE
YOUR PAWHO IS HE, HIS DESIGNS
AND WORKSRAGRAPH TEXT

MOSHE SAFDIE IS AN ISRAELI-
CANADIAN-AMERICAN
ARCHITECT AND URBAN
PLANNER. IN 1953, HE
IMMIGRATED TO CANADA FROM
ISRAEL, AT THE AGE OF 15; IN HIS
20’S, AFTER AN APPREN -
TICESHIP WITH LOUIS KAHN, HIS
MASTER’S THESIS AT MCGILL
UNIVERSITY BECAME A CULT
BUILDING: THE PIONEERING, MOD
- ULAR HABITAT APARTMENTS
FOR EXPO ’67, THE WORLD’S FAIR
HELD IN MONTREAL.

NOW BASED IN BOSTON, SAFDIE’S WORK IS KNOWN FOR ITS
DRAMATIC CURVES, STRONG GEOMETRIC PAT - TERNS AND
GREEN SPACES. HE HAS DESIGNED OVER 75 BUILD- INGS
AND MASTER PLANS AROUND THE WORLD. THESE INCLUDE
NUMEROUS CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS - THE NATIONAL
GALLERY IN OTTAWA, THE MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE
ARTS, THE VANCOU - VER PUBLIC LIBRARY – AS WELL AS
THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM IN JERUSALEM, THE KHALSA
HERITAGE CENTRE IN INDIA, THE MA - RINA BAY SANDS AND
ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM IN SINGAPORE, AND, IN THE US, THE
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM IN SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS AND
THE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM IN AR - KANSAS.

IN ALL HIS WORK SAFDIE
SEEKS TO CREATE MEAN-
INGFUL, INCLUSIVE AND
VITAL SOCIAL SPACES
THAT ENHANCE
COMMUNITY AND
RESPOND TO CULTURAL
CONTEXT. BY BREAK- ING
DOWN SCALE, CREATING
BUILDINGS THAT ARE
EASILY NAVI- GATED AND
OPEN TO DAYLIGHT AND
THE OUTDOORS, HE
HOPES TO BRING A SENSE
OF HUMANITY TO THE
MEGA-STRUCTURE.

HES PHİLOSOPHY
TO BUILD IT WITH RESPONSIBILITY; THE
ARCHITECTURE AS A REAL PROPOSAL UNDERSTAND
AND RESCEPT THE ESSENCE OF THE PLACE,
INTEGRATE ITS WORKS WITH NATURE.

HABITAT 67, WHICH IS CONSIDERED A VERY
IMPORTANT LANDMARK FOR WORLD
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY, IS ONE OF THE
MOST WELL-KNOWN STRUCTURES IN
CANADA.
MOSHE SAFDIE, WHO CAME UP WITH THE
IDEA OF PRODUCING HIGH-QUALITY
HOUSES FOR CROWDED CITIES, TRIED
HABITAT 67 AS A SOLUTION FOR THIS
URBAN PROBLEM. SAFDIE TRIED TO REDUCE
HOUSING COSTS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BY
USING PREFABRICATED MODULAR UNITS
AND TO CREATE A NEW HOUSE TYPOLOGY.
THE NEW TYPOLOGY CREATED BY SAFDIE
AIMS TO BRING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF
LARGER HOUSES LOCATED OUTSIDE THE
CITY TO THE CENTER OF THE CITY.

ALTAIR RESIDENCES
THE ALTAIR TOWER, THE TALLEST
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN SRI LANKA,
PROVIDES OUTDOOR GARDEN TERRACES AT
EVERY LEVEL WITH AN INNOVATIVE TWO-
LEG STRUCTURAL DESIGN.
THE BUILDING IS COMPRISED OF TWO VERTICAL TOWER BLOCKS, ONE LEANING ON THE
OTHER. THE LEANING FORM ALLOWS FOR EACH FLOOR LEVEL TO HAVE AN OUTDOOR
TERRACE FACING BEIRA LAKE. BOTH THE LEANING TOWER AND ITS PAIRED VERTICAL TOWER
ARE PLANNED WITH THROUGH-UNIT DESIGNS ALLOWING FOR OPEN PLANS AND NATURAL
CROSS-VENTILATION TO ALL APARTMENTS.
AT THE GROUND LEVEL, AN ARCADE OF RETAIL OUTLETS ACTIVATES A WATERFRONT
PEDESTRIAN PROMENADE.

MARINA BAY SANDS - ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM
THE ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM
LOCATED ALONG THE MARINA
BAY SANDS WATERFRONT CO-
LOCATES EXHIBITS THAT BRIDGE
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
ARTS AND SCIENCES. THE
MUSEUM IS ORGANIZED AS TWO
MAJOR EXHIBITION SPACES,
POSITIONED AROUND A CENTRAL
OPEN-SPACE ATRIUM. THE FIRST
EXHIBITS HOVER WITHIN A
SCULPTURALLY SHAPED FORM
OVER THE PROMENADE, AND A
SECOND COLLECTION OF
GALLERY SPACES ARE LOCATED
BENEATH A LARGE WATER LILY
GARDEN

MARINA BAY SANDS - ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM
THE ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM AT MARINA BAY
SANDS IS CONCEPTUALIZED AND DESIGNED BY
ARCHITECT MOSHE SAFDIE AS THE FIRST MUSEUM
DEDICATED TO THE DYNAMIC INTERPLAY
BETWEEN ART AND SCIENCE. DESIGNED AS PART
OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE’S VISION
THAT MARINA BAY SANDS FEATURE AN ICONIC
CULTURAL BUILDING ON THE PROMONTORY, THE
ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM IS GROUNDED AROUND A
CIRCULAR BASE WITH 10 EXTENDING FINGER-LIKE
STRUCTURES THAT HOUSE 21 NATURALLY LIT
GALLERIES. SURROUNDED BY A LILY POND
REFLECTING POOL AND BOASTING COMMANDING
VIEWS OF DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE, THE MUSEUM
IS A SYMBOL FOR SINGAPORE.

MARINA BAY SANDS - ARTSCIENCE MUSEUM
THE DESIGN THAT EMERGED IS COMPOSED
OF TWO PRINCIPLE PARTS.
THE BASE, WHICH IS EMBEDDED IN THE EARTH AND SURROUNDED BY
THE BAY’S WATER AND A GIANT LILY POND, AND A FLOWER-LIKE
STRUCTURE MADE OF 10 PETALS, GENERATED BY THE GEOMETRY OF
SPHEROIDS OF VARYING RADII THAT SEEMINGLY FLOATS ABOVE THE
LANDSCAPED POND BASE. THE PETALS, OR FINGERS AS SOME REFER
TO THEM, RISE TOWARDS THE SKY WITH VARYING HEIGHTS, EACH
CROWNED BY A SKYLIGHT WHICH DRAWS IN DAYLIGHT, PENETRATING
THE BASE AND ILLUMINATING THE GALLERIES WITHIN.
THE BUILDING STANDS AS A
STRONG SYMBOL OF THE
FUNCTION IT CONTAINS, AN
INSTITUTION PROMOTING A
DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ART
AND SCIENCE.