Claude Cormier (June 22, 1960 – September 15, 2023) was a Canadian

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The majority of his projects are located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. His landscape practice was founded in 1994. In March 2022, the practice Claude Cormier + associes became CCxA in light of new partners.

Biography

Claude Cormier studied History & Theory of Design at Harvard University, Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto, Agronomy at the University of Guelph, and established the firm CCxA (formerly Claude Cormier et Associés) in Montreal in 1994. Over the years, the firm has been engaged to work on major public works in Montreal, Toronto, and the USA and has received more than 100 awards. In 2010, the

Harvard University Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

organised an exclusive retrospective exhibition of the firm "Erratics". In 2009, Cormier was Knighted to the

Ordre National du Québec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (National ...

, the province's highest distinction for individuals who have contributed to the development and leadership of

. Cormier was also selected as an Emerging Voice for North America by the Architectural League of New York, as well as one of 14 international designers advancing the design field by Fast Company Magazine. Last year the firm was invited by

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional of ...

to be featured in a publication as one of the top 30 worldwide Landscape architects in the world. ''Serious Fun: The Landscapes of Claude Cormier'', the first book exclusively dedicated to Claude Cormier's practice, was published in Fall 2021 at Oro editions. Cormier died on September 15, 2023, at the age of 63, of multiple cancers caused by Li-Fraumeni syndrome. In 2024, Claude Cormier was posthumously awarded the 2024 Governor General's Medal in Landscape Architecture (GGMLA) from the

Canadian Society of Landscape Architects The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (; CSLA-AAPC) is the national organization representing 1600 List of landscape architects, landscape architects in Canada's ten provinces and three territories. The organization was founded in 1934. Its m ...

(CSLA).

Projects

Design philosophy

During his time at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Cormier studied the works of two "seemingly contradictory" landscape architects, Martha Schwartz and

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. He once described as main influences as "Martha is mom and Olmsted is dad".

Canada

* Warehouse Campus Park, Edmonton (2022–) * Love Park (2018–2023), Toronto *

The Ring The Ring may refer to: Arts and entertainment *The Ring (franchise), ''The Ring'' (franchise), a Japanese horror media franchise Literature * ''The Ring'', a 1967 novel by Richard Chopping * ''The Ring'', a 1988 book by Daniel Keys Moran * ''The R ...

Place Ville Marie Place Ville Marie (, abbr. PVM) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. The main building, 1 Place Ville Marie (formerly Royal Ba ...

, June 2022, Montréal * RioCan Leaside Centre (2020–2024), Toronto * Leslie Slip Lookout Park (2020–2022), Toronto *

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is the city centre of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Measuring , the district is located at the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane Street (Toronto), Jane Street, northeast of the Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400 and Ontario ...

and Smart VMC (2020–2022), Vaughan * Pensionnat Saint-Nom-de-Marie (2020–2022), Montréal * 1 Square Phillips (2019–2023), Montréal * National Bank Headquarters (2019–2023), Montreal * The Well (2013–2023), Toronto * Draper Park (2022–), Toronto * Canadian Institute of the Blind (2015–2023), Edmonton * Cobe,

West Don Lands The West Don Lands are the site of a neighbourhood under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is bordered by the Don River (Toronto), Don River, King Street, Toronto, Ontario, King Street, Parliament Street and the rail line adjac ...

(2018–2022), Toronto * St-Clair Block Development – Plan d'ensemble (2018–2022) * Garrison Point Condos – Plan d'ensemble (2012–2022), King West Village, Toronto * 2-8 Gloucester (2018–2022), Toronto * 88 Queen St East (2015–2022), Toronto * RCA-Lenoir (2020–), Montréal * 175 Wynford-Don Valley Parkway (2020–), Toronto * King and Portland Development (2020), Toronto * Daniels Waterfront/City of the Arts (2020), Toronto Waterfront * Musée Pointe-à-Callière – Masterplan (2019), Montréal * 592 Sherbourne Street/The Selby (2019), Toronto * Pôle Champlain – Proposition (2019), Ottawa * Pink Balls / 18 Shades of Gay (2011–2019), Montréal * 700 St-Jacques (2018–), Montréal * Breakwater Park (2018), Kingston * River City Phase 3 (2018), Toronto *

Dorchester Square Dorchester Square, originally Dominion Square, is a large urban square in downtown Montreal. Together with Place du Canada, the area is just over or of manicured and protected urban parkland bordered by René Lévesque Boulevard to the south ...

and Place du Canada (2008–2018), Montréal * Collège Ahuntsic (2018), Montréal * Vaughan Metropolitan Centre – Masterplan (2018), Vaughan * Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Bus Terminal Block (2013–), Vaughan * TOM I, II, III, IV (2012–2014, 2017), Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, Montréal * Balade pour la paix (2017), Montréal * Parc Jean-Drapeau – Plan de mise en valeur et réaménagement (2017), Montréal * Jardin Frédéric Back du Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (2017), Montréal * Cité archéologique Place d'Youville, Musée de Pointe-à-Callière (2017), Montréal * Berczy Park (2017), Toronto * National Holocaust Monument with Studio Daniel Libeskind and Edward Burtynsky (2017), Ottawa * Curtis Block (2016–), Calgary * Scrivener Square (2016–), Toronto * CIBC Commerce Court (2016–), Toronto * The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts and L-Tower (2016), Toronto * 300 Front Street (2015), Toronto * Performing Arts Centre & Brock University School of Fine and Performing Arts (2015), St. Catharines * 117 Peter Street (2015), Toronto * Au grand dam (2015), Ville LaSalle * One The Esplanade (2014), Toronto * Le Château Appartements (2013), Montreal * Blue Stick Garden (1999–2013), Métis sur mer, Montreal, Winnipeg * Four Seasons Hotel and Residences (2012), Toronto * Clock Tower Beach (2012), Montreal * Parc Hydro-Québec (2012), Montreal * Canadian Centre for Architecture (1992–2010), Montreal *

Sugar Beach Sugar Beach is an urban beach park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that opened in 2010. It is located across from Redpath Sugar Refinery in Toronto's eastern East Bayfront. Like HTO Park to the west, the beach is not meant for wading or swimming ...

(2010), Toronto *

Evergreen Brickworks The Don Valley Brick Works (often referred to as the Evergreen Brick Works) is a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River Valley in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Don Valley Brick Works operated for nearly 100 years and provided ...

(2010), Toronto * Canadian Museum of History Plaza (2010), Gatineau * Benny Farm (2010), Montreal * Place d'Youville (2008), Montreal * HtO Urban Beach (2007), Toronto * Entrepôt Frigorifique – Masterplan (2006), Montreal * Université du Quebec à Montreal, Campus des sciences (2005), Montreal * Commissioners Park – Concept (2004), Toronto * Place des Arts – Masterplan (2003), Montreal * Lipstick Forest (2002), Montreal * Blue Lawn, Canadian Centre for Architecture (1997), Montreal In Toronto, Cormier won two design competitions for the Sugar Beach project and for the HtO project.

USA and abroad

* Cascade Park (2021), Chicago (USA) * Buchwald Plaza (2019), Mount Vernon (USA) * Rice University – Masterplan (2019), Houston (USA) * Blue Forest, Nissan Design America (2007), Detroit and La Jolla (USA) * Pergola, Biennale d'art contemporain (2006), Le Havre (France) * Blue Tree, Cornerstone Festival of Architectural Gardens (2005), Sonoma (USA) * Blue Stick Garden (2005), Chicago (USA) * Blue Stick Garden, Hestercombe Gardens (2004), Taunton (England) * Solange (2003), Lyon (France) * International Mosaïcultures of Montréal – Masterplan (2003), Dubaï, UAE * Shanghai's Montreal Garden (2000), Shanghai (China) * Red Lawn, Schindler House MAK Center (1999), Los Angeles (USA)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cormier, Claude 1960 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Canadian LGBTQ artists Canadian architects Canadian landscape architects Deaths from cancer in Quebec Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Knights of the National Order of Quebec LGBTQ architects Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts University of Guelph alumni University of Toronto alumni Urban designers