The Canadian cement industry suggested this innovative idea to the organizers of Expo 67, who called on a young architect named Moshe Safdie, trained at McGill University. He in turn worked with other Montreal architects and several engineering firms.

The building process began in 1965 and was completed in 1967. The final result was an indisputable architectural and engineering tour de force, one that enjoys worldwide recognition. Habitat '67 consists of a complex assembly of prefabricated concrete blocks, assembled on site. All in all, 354 boxes of different shapes make up 158 dwellings. Walkways on the 6th and 10th floors, with visible elevators, also play a structural role.

The project was marked from the very beginning by a strong desire to innovate, in both the approach to construction and the approach to living. Habitat '67, to use Le Corbusier's expression, is a unique "machine for living in." Indeed, the project very quickly became a symbol of modern architecture. Its concrete boxes, resembling containers, and its location in the port across from the historic city centre and the new downtown, show how a city that has always been so closely connected to its river has contributed to modernism.

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