Exploring the Hillside Sample Project with Safdie Architects and Neoscape | Unreal Engine

The Hillside Sample Project is a virtual recreation of Moshe Safdie’s original vision for Habitat 67, one of the most important buildings of the 60s and an inspiring look at what affordable living could be. Learn how this project came together as part of a collaboration between Safdie Architects, Neoscape, and Epic Games in this short overview. Explore the Sample Project in Unreal Engine today: Habitat 67 is a model community and housing complex in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designed by Israeli-Canadian architect, Moshe Safdie. It is one of the most recognizable projects in modular urbanization and construction, partially because its vision for affordable future living was considered very ahead of its time. It is still a key landmark in Canadian architecture and is well-known throughout North America. Habitat 67 was originally conceived as Safdie’s master’s thesis at the School of Architecture at McGill University and then built as a pavilion for Expo 67, a World’s Fair, which was held from April to October 1967. As one of the major symbols of Expo 67, Habitat 67 gained worldwide acclaim as a “fantastic experiment“ and “architectural wonder“ and was seen by millions of visitors (over 50 million attended the exhibit). Habitat 67 was designed to integrate the benefits of suburban homes—namely gardens, fresh air, privacy, and multi-level environments—with the access, community, density, and economics of a modern urban apartment building. It illustrated a new potential for urban living at a time when many households were leaving the city and sprawling, low-density development was on the rise. Sadly, scope and funding never aligned, making the realization of the full project vision an unfinished dream. The existing structure was originally meant to only be the first phase of a much larger complex, but the total estimated cost of $42 million prevented that possibility. Instead of a community of 1,200 families rising 30 stories, the Habitat 67 that stands today was scaled back to 158 residences and less than half of the original height. However, thanks to Unreal Engine, Safdie’s original vision can be explored in all its (virtual) glory, providing the next generation of architects, engineers, and urban planners an interactive reference point for creating a better tomorrow.