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Via Collections Canada

The task of designing the complete way-finding sign­­age system for Expo 67 in Montreal was entrusted by the Canadian Corporation for the 1967 World Exhibition to Paul Arthur & Associates Ltd. It was the first time that an entire graphic programme of official and commercial signage on such an immense scale – for the equivalent of a thousand-acre city – had ever been planned in advance as a modular system and integrated into a master planning concept.

Pictograms of animals in black silhouette were used to identify the various areas of the two mammoth parking lots, each of which accommodated about 12,000 cars.

- Burton Kramer

“354 cubes of a magnificent grey-beige build up one on the other to form 148 residences nestled between sky and earth, between city and river, between greenery and light,” Habitat 67 was designed as part of the successful Expo 67. Housing was one of the themes of the expo, and the blocky complex was one of the thematic pavilion for visitors. The building/pavilion would demonstrate how future housing would “integrate the variety and diversity of scattered private homes with the economics and density of a modern apartment building”. During the event the most dramatic spaces with the best views, were reserved for dignitaries coming to Montreal.

The buildings obviously pioneered how to design and construct modular, and use interlocking forms to create useful and pleasant spaces. The building was designed to be moderately priced entry level housing, but value grew from its fame and architectural cachet, creating an ongoing demand. “What started as a student project more than four decades ago has now been designated a heritage site by the Quebec government”.

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