Photographer James Brittain documents the inhabitation and adaptation of Montreal’s brutalist landmark

Buildings.

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James Brittain

An exhibition of photographer James Brittain’s images of Habitat 67 is the latest instalment in Jonathan Tuckey Design’s ‘Building on the Built’ programme of talks and shows devoted to promoting architectural work connected to existing structures. ‘Revisited: Habitat 67’ presents a series of large-scale colour photographs documenting the Montreal residential complex designed by Moshe Safdie as the Canadian Pavilion for the World Exposition of 1967. The images are accompanied by archival material from the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the Canadian Architecture Collection at McGill University, depicting the original ambitions for Habitat 67.

Ampetheatre

“I’ve been thinking about layers and traces of life left on architecture over time”, says Brittain. “I’ve also been considering the way Habitat 67 itself has aged, how it’s used and inhabited, and how both public and private space at the complex has been adapted by the residents. The photographs are also a response to the daily dose of digital imagery of architecture on social media and the web. Mainstream photography of architecture has largely withdrawn from communicating the experience of buildings and spaces, and specific moments spent in places”.

‘Revisited: Habitat 67’ is open to the public from 10am to 6pm on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4 February, and Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th February 2018.
Jonathan Tuckey Design 58 Milson Road, London W14

An introductory talk by James Brittain takes place on Tuesday 6th February. To attend, email RSVP@buildingonthebuilt.org.

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