Years ago we saw the most
striking building in Montreal on the St Lawrence River. It turned out to be
Habitat 67 designed by a 23-year old apprentice of Louis Kahn, Moshe Safdie.
The apartment complex was one of the highlights of Expo 67 that was based on
the theme ‘Man and his world’ (not a million miles away in spirit from the
Auckland Art Gallery’s theme for this year’s Triennial ‘If you were to live
here’ with its architectural design lab).
In Kansas City we saw a spectacular building from the
other end of Safdie’s career, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Rolling between references to the
Sydney Opera House and the Guggenheim it's a startling modern presence in a
city that has had the foresight to retain much of its early architecture.
Safdie’s most recent project is Crystal Bridges, an art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Images: Moshe Safdie's Kauffman Center for Performing Arts in Kansas City (click on images to enlarge)
