Moshe Safdie

The Israeli, Canadian, and American architect Moshe Safdie has received the 2015 AIA Gold Medal at the age of 77. This prize, given annually by the American Institute of Architects, “honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.” The Board of Directors of this prestigious award acknowledged Safdie’s “comprehensive and humane approach to designing public and cultural spaces across the world.” Born in Haifa in 1938, he moved to Canada in 1953 when he was only 15. After studying in Canada and the United States, the young Safdie worked in Philadelphia with Louis Kahn, his mentor. He returned to Montreal to oversee the master plan for the Universal Expo of 1967, and set up his own studio in 1964 in Canada. His most highly commended project is precisely the Habitat 67 residential complex in Montreal, which proposes, through a three-dimensional modular system, a different community model. In 1970 Safdie opened a second studio in Jerusalem, and since then he has completed several noteworthy public projects.