SAFDIE, MOSHE

SAFDIE, MOSHE (1938– ), architect and urban designer. Safdie was born in Haifa. A youthful Zionist and socialist, he was dismayed when his family relocated to Montreal when he was 15. He graduated in architecture at McGill University in 1961 before moving to Philadelphia, where he apprenticed for two years under Louis I. kahn . Safdie returned to Montreal to open his own architectural office. He took charge of the master plan for Expo '67 in Montreal and was able to realize his graduate thesis as "Habitat 67," a cellular housing scheme. Like LEGO, this prefabricated residence complex could be transported and resituated. This innovative design brought Safdie immediate international recognition and project commissions in Puerto Rico and New York. In 1967 Safdie returned to Israel and a Jerusalem reunified after the Six-Day War. He opened a Jerusalem office in 1970 and contributed significantly to the restoration of the Old City of Jerusalem and to connecting the New and Old Cities of Jerusalem. He also was engaged in developing the city of   Modi'in, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, the Rabin Memorial Center, and the new Ben-Gurion International Airport in Israel. In 1978, Safdie was appointed Ian Woodner Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and established his firm's main office in Somerville, Massachusetts. However, he continued to have a strong Canadian presence. He designed major Canadian public institutions, including the Vancouver Public Library, the Quebec Museum of Civilization, and the National Gallery of Canada. Safdie's institutional, cultural, and educational commissions are also found across the United States, in Israel, and around the world, with projects in Singapore, Iran, Senegal, India, and the Canadian arctic. Many of his commissions have been honored with major national and international awards. In addition to his headquarters in Somerville, Safdie maintains offices in Toronto and Jerusalem. In 1986 Safdie was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He is the brother of the artist Sylvia safdie . (Aliza Craimer (2nd ed.)