Douglas Cardinal
Encyclopedia
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born 7 March 1934, Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
.
Born of Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
and Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
heritage, Cardinal is famous for flowing architecture marked with smooth lines, influenced by his Aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
heritage as well as European Expressionist architecture
Expressionist architecture
Expressionist architecture was an architectural movement that developed in Europe during the first decades of the 20th century in parallel with the expressionist visual and performing arts....
In 1953, he attended the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
; he later attended the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, from which he graduated with a degree in Architecture in 1963.
Professional life
Among the many projects Cardinal has completed in his career are the following:- St. Albert Place & City Hall, St. Albert, AlbertaSt. Albert, AlbertaSt. Albert is a suburban city in Alberta, located northwest of Edmonton, on the Sturgeon River. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second largest city in the Edmonton area. St...
; - Leighton Artist Colony, at the Banff Centre, Banff, AlbertaBanff, AlbertaBanff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
; - Provincial Building, Ponoka, AlbertaPonoka, AlbertaPonoka is a town in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the south/central parkland region of rolling hills. Industries are agriculture , and oil and gas production...
; - Grande Prairie Regional CollegeGrande Prairie Regional CollegeGrande Prairie Regional College, often abbreviated GPRC, is a comprehensive community college with two campuses Grande Prairie and Fairview, Alberta. Over 2,000 students in credit programs, and over 6,000 in workforce training and recreational programs, attend GPRC and Fairview College Campus...
, Grande Prairie, AlbertaGrande Prairie, AlbertaGrande Prairie is a city in the northwestern part of the province of Alberta in Western Canada. It is located on the southern edge of the Peace River Country . The city is surrounded by the County of Grande Prairie No...
; - St. Mary's Church, (1968) Red Deer, AlbertaRed Deer, AlbertaRed Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...
; - Canadian Museum of CivilizationCanadian Museum of CivilizationThe Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
(1989) in Gatineau, Quebec, which faces Canada's Parliament Hill from directly across the OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
River. - Edmonton Space And Science Centre, (1984) Coronation Park, Edmonton, Alberta, which has since been renovated and rebranded as the Telus World of ScienceTELUS World of ScienceTelus World of Science is a "brand" for a number of science centre, planetarium, and space centre facilities in Canada sponsored by Telus, a Canadian telecommunications company...
- First Nations University of CanadaFirst Nations University of CanadaThe First Nations University of Canada is a university in Saskatchewan, Canada with campuses in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert...
, Regina, SaskatchewanRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox... - National Museum of the American IndianNational Museum of the American IndianThe National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
(1993-1998), WashingtonWashington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... - York Regional Administrative Centre, Newmarket, OntarioNewmarket, OntarioNewmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
Cardinal was one of the first North American architects to use computers to assist in the design process. His curvilinear designs reflect the landscape around them, so that people making use of the building can retain a sense of the land that surrounds them.
In 1993, he was hired by The Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
as the Primary Design Architect for the National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
, or NMAI. The NMAI is situated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and directly faces the Capitol of the United States of America. After contractual disputes, Cardinal was removed from the project in 1998 before it was completed, but he continued to provide input into the building's design.
In 2008, his firm was hired by the Kirkland Foundation to design a museum/convention center in Union City, Tenn. The Discovery Park of America
Discovery Park of America
Discovery Park of America is a planned tourist attraction to be located in Union City, Tennessee. This park will sit on of land off of Everett Boulevard, near the proposed Interstate 69....
was to be a unique structure housing a multi level museum with artifacts from across the nation as well as provide a place for large conventions/meetings for the community. Early in 2009 the firm's contract was terminated with the owner, and all construction activity was halted, due to undisclosed differences between the two parties.