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The pivotal turning point in the late Frei Otto’s career – capped by last month’s Pritzker announcement – came nearly fifty years ago at the Expo ’67 World’s Fair in Montreal, Quebec. In collaboration with architect Rolf Gutbrod, Otto was responsible for the exhibition pavilion of the Federal Republic of Germany, a tensile canopy structure that brought his experiments in lightweight architecture to the international stage for the first time. Together with Fuller’s Biosphere and Safdie’s Habitat 67, the German Pavilion was part of the Expo’s late-modern demonstration of the potential of technology, pre-fabrication, and mass production to generate a new humanitarian direction for architecture. This remarkable collection at the Expo was both the zenith of modern meliorism and its tragic swan song; never since has the world seen such a singularly hopeful display of innovative architecture.

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This year's second installment of Index Design's Master Classe series will feature architect Brendan MacFarlane on March 24, 2015, from 6:00 to 8:00PM in Montreal. MacFarlane, co-founder of the internationally-acclaimed design firm Jakob + MacFarlane, will discuss his iconic and award-winning work, and his pursuit of creating architecture that "leaves nobody indifferent." To purchase tickets and for more information, visit masterclasses.index-design.ca.

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