By Sandra Lewrey
On a chilly fall morning in late September, the air is unusually crisp. Pedestrians hurry past the offices of Douglas J. Cardinal Architect Limited, their hands buried deeply in their pockets. This is not a morning for strolling.
Except Douglas Cardinal.
Shortly after 11 a.m., he saunters towards his office on Somerset Street, his overcoat unbuttoned and flapping in the wind.
Once inside, Cardinal walks past his team of designers without so much as a “good morning,” and takes his seat at the large, boardroom-style desk by the office’s picturesque bay window.
All around him are signs that this is his space — scale models crowd the area behind his desk and photographs of one of his most famous projects, the National Museum of Civilization, dot the walls.
Hanging on the wall beside his desk are an impressive array of awards, degrees and letters of recognition. Almost every inch is covered and a number of plaques sit on a nearby shelf, including the medal he received after being named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990.
Resting his elbows on the top of the desk, he surveys the bustling office with what seems to be a stern and critical eye. Tiny frown lines crease the corners of his mouth and his face falls into a natural expression of intense contemplation.
At 65, he is not only the oldest member of the firm, but the most experienced. Everything about his demeanour suggests that he is the “patriarch” of this little group of architects. Consequently, it is his duty to watch out for his staff and ensure that everything runs smoothly within the firm.
Unfortunately, that rarely happens in the architecture business. On this particular morning, Cardinal seems understandably troubled by a controversy he is mired in with the Smithsonian Institution regarding the designs for a Washington, D.C., museum. As he begins to talk about his work on the National Museum of the American Indian, he straightens up in his chair and his voice rises.
But as he launches into a discussion on how he believes an American architectural firm “stole” his completed idea for the museum, his anger gives way to resignation that there is nothing else he can do at this time.
His son, Bret, also works at the firm and devoted many hours of work to the Washington project. He also believes the other firm attempted to pass off what he feels is a “forged” copy.
What astounds both father and son is that no action was taken against the people they call “thieves.”
“We know how hard we worked on that project,” says Bret. “Everyone here put so much effort into that building and this is how we are rewarded. It’s sickening.”
Most of Cardinal’s life has been characterized by a kind of “outsider” quality. Never one to follow the pack, he has always done things his own way, both personally and professionally.
Born in Calgary in 1934, he was the first of eight children.
As a child attending Catholic school, Cardinal studied music and art, but quickly began to develop an appreciation for architecture, and decided early on that it would be his chosen career.
“I found that architecture would be the ultimate challenge because it combines everything,” he says. “It combines music, art, politics, economics and engineering . . . all while using the technology to express a physical manifestation of where society is ‘at’.”
In 1953, Cardinal began his architectural studies at the University of British Columbia, but quickly discovered he didn’t have the background necessary to pursue his wildly original ideas.
In 1956, Cardinal travelled to Arizona to apprentice under architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Although he received no formal recognition or accreditation for his work with Wright, Cardinal says his experience was “invaluable.”
However, he says his time spent at the University of Texas was even more important than his work with Wright.
“At that particular time, the University of Texas had teachers from all over the world. I thought that I could really learn about all the different styles of architecture and then develop my own individual expression.”
After graduating in 1963, he returned to Red Deer, Alta., where he worked on some small projects before being commissioned for one of his first major works. St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church had been planned as a typical, run-of-the-mill building, but quickly became unique under Cardinal’s leadership.
The gently-curving walls, dramatically-sloped ceilings and intricate brick work soon became a signature of Cardinal’s distinctive architectural style. His trademark “curvilinear” designs can also be seen in such buildings as the Edmonton Space Sciences Centre and, more recently, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull.
His contributions to architecture, however, don’t stop at the awe-inspiring buildings he has helped create. In many ways, he is also changing the way architects approach their work.
Cardinal advocates a hands-on approach to his craft and works extensively with his clients to help develop their needs and wishes.
Cardinal’s firm was also one of the first architectural agencies to become fully computerized. Today, other architects are still trying to catch up to the advances he has made in this field.
Of course, Cardinal would never have been able to achieve this level of fame without some help, and he credits his architectural team for much of the firm’s success.
Lanzlo Mohacsi started with Cardinal in May and says there is no one else he would rather be working for.
“He was always one of the more influential architects in my eyes. For me, he typifies Canadian and North American architecture.”
Mohacsi adds that Cardinal is on a level that is far more advanced than any other architect in Canada.
“No one else is doing what he is doing,” says Mohacsi. “There is a scope of work going on that is far beyond what other teams are doing and I am proud to be part of it.”
Cardinal says he will continue to push the boundaries of modern architecture, well into the future. He maintains that if he died tomorrow, he would have spent his last day doing exactly what he has done all his life.
“This is my life, and I am happy with it.”