Three Safdie Projects Follow Goals of Habitat ’67

Three high-rise projects by noted firm Safdie Architects — one nearly completed, one just topped out and one newly launched — offer a vision of residential projects in Asia and Latin America embracing the ideal created by architect Moshe Safdie more than 50 years ago with his Habitat ’67, the firm recently said. The three projects — the soon-to-complete Altair Residences in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Quito, Ecuador’s topped out Qorner Tower; and Phase II of Habitat Qinhuangdao in China — follow Habitat ’67’s ideals that architecture should be humane and connected to nature. To that end, the projects are designed to maximize daylight, natural air, privacy and communal space. These developments incorporate stepped profiles, landscaped terraces and public garden amenities at multiple levels, and are meant to reflect their respective site, geography, climate and culture.