Renowned Canadian landscape architect Claude Cormier died at his home in Montreal on September 15 at the age of 63.
Cormier is the creative force behind some of Canada’s most beloved,
colorful and critically acclaimed public spaces.
Exhilarating and devastating, Cormier’s designs blended conceptual clarity with a considered instinct to create enduring places.
Cormier founded CCxA in Montreal in 1995.
In 2011, the company became Claude Cormier et Associés, then CCxA in 2022.
His ability was etched in public with widespread public appeal stemming from multiple qualities.
Cormier was known for his talent for creative problem-solving and his ability to bring light and laughter to everyone – and every situation – he encountered.
He was known for his boldness, loyalty, discipline, leadership and business acumen.
Having left a very colorful and original mark on the cities of North America,
Exhilarating and devastating, Cormier’s designs blended conceptual clarity with thoughtful instinct to create enduring places.
Cormier’s most important and famous works
Cormier’s works include Berzi Park in Toronto in 2017 – which features a prominent water fountain featuring life-sized bronze dogs, And one cat.
And The Ring in Montreal in 2022 – a massive steel hoop 30 meters in diameter,
Suspended between Henry’s modernist towers. 1950s mug in Ville Marie,
National Holocaust Memorial in Ottawa designed by Daniel Libeskind in 2017.
“Claude was a great visionary,” CCxA said in his obituary on its website.
He influenced us in a surprising and powerful way thanks to his creative power and joie de vivre that he was able to place at the center of our lives.”
“His flowing creativity and warm presence allowed him to develop a highly renowned firm in landscape architecture and urban design.
Which focuses on a positive, generous state of mind and an unwavering belief in the power of determination.”
“His creative approach, applied to problem solving combined with an open and iterative design process,” the company added.
He knew how to lead us off the beaten track.”
Cormier’s upbringing
Coming from humble, hard-working rural roots, Cormier grew up on a farm and a sugar bush near the small town of Princeville, Quebec.
He was the eldest of two sons and the third of four children.
Cormier’s father, Laurent, was a farmer, and his mother, Solange, was a teacher.
Cormier began his education in agronomy and plant genetics at Laval University in Quebec, tending to the family farm.
After his father died in 1976, when Claude was seventeen years old,
He redirected his education, first completing his undergraduate studies in agricultural engineering at the University of Guelph in 1982,
He then went on to study at the University of Toronto, where he graduated with a BA in Landscape Architecture in 1986.
Cormier then sought out Phyllis Lambert as a donor, and Lambert agreed to fund a year at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1994,
For Cormier to earn a master’s degree in design history and theory,
in exchange for Cormier’s commitment to consult on landscape stewardship for Lambert’s recently established Canadian Center for Architecture.
Cormier studied landscape architecture at the University of Toronto and agricultural engineering at the University of Guelph.
Cormier’s working life
At Harvard, Cormier was influenced by the theories of landscape architects Martha Schwartz and Peter Walker,
whose exploration of the artistic and conceptual possibilities of landscape design was a departure from the Modernist orthodoxy of the previous generation.
Cormier established his practice in Montreal in 1994,
and his early installations established a reputation for projects that incorporated abstraction,
Storytelling, conceptual art, and bold use of color.
This was in sharp contrast to the traditional landscape painting of plants and earthen grounds.
Over the years, Cormier’s works have received more than 100 awards and honors.
In 2023, Cormier was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and in 2009,
He was knighted in the Order of Quebec,
the province’s highest honor for individuals who have contributed to the development and leadership of Quebec.
He has received individual awards and lifetime awards from the Society of Architects paysagistes du Québec and the Architectural League of New York.
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