Douglas Cardinal

Who is He ?

Douglas Cardinal is considered one of Canada's most influential contemporary Indigenous architects. Born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1934. His father was of Blackfoot/Kainai and Algonquin heritage, and his mother was of German and Métis descent.

He was sent to St. Joseph's Convent Catholic Residential School

Because of his heritage, he was denied to study arts and architecture at UBC and instead graduated from The university of Texas, in Austin, with a degree in architecture.

Douglas Cardinal is very interested in anthropology and the sacredness of nature and how humans interracted with it.

This lead him to become drawn to the concepts of Anthropomorphism and use it as a core element of his architectural style.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization

Located in Gatineau, Quebec, is the Canadian Museum of Civilization, built in 1989 by Douglas Cardinal.

This building was very ambitious at the time both by its size and the technology used, such as a heating/cooling system using the nearby Ottawa River. Cardinal wished for the building to really interract with nature and the humans, made entirely out of natural materials and bearing very organic curves. This museum was built following Trudau's ambition to elevate Canada as a world leader and as part of this vision, he actuated a national competition to design world-class museums. Douglas Cardinal was then selected to represent this vision and design this new bulding.

"The Canadian Museum of Civilization is rich in symbolism, and eloquent curves. It is the most visited building in Canada, with more than one million visitors each year. It is consistently chosen as a stage to host world leaders visiting the Nation’s Capital on official business."




The Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute


ALBERTA GOVERNMENT SERVICES BUILDING

His Most notorious Works





His other works include

The National Museum of the American Indian


The First Nations University



If you are interested in seeing more: djcarchitect.com/work

Significant archievements

  • An award from the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for best sustainable village

  • Titled an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the most prestigious awards given to a Canadian

  • Awarded the declaration of being "World Master of Contemporary Architechture" by the International Association of Architects

  • 20 Honorary Doctorates, Gold Medals of Architecture in Canada and Russia



"Without any preconceptions, I evolve a

design from the inside out, open to all

possibilities."