In 2017, Cormier was invited to collaborate with Daniel Libeskind on the National Holocaust Memorial in Ottawa. 18 Shades of Gay (Jean-Michael Seminaro/Courtesy CCxA) Both were described as “love letters” for Cormier’s two favorite cities: Montreal and Toronto. Cormier’s last major built works were The Ring, completed in 2022, and Love Park, completed earlier this year.
Lipstick Forest (2002) Pink Balls(2011-2016) and 18 Shades of Gay installations (2017-2019) were called expressions of “queer joy” and hallmarks of Cormier’s design identity. Overtime, Cormier became known as a “design ambassador for queer issues.” Cormier built several important cultural projects with LGBTQ2S+ clients and communities. Blue Stick Gardens (Courtesy CCxA)Ĭormier’s larger built projects came in the early 2000s in the creation of “Montréal and Toronto’s best-loved public squares and urban parks.” With built work in China, Dubai, France, the U.K., and the U.S., Cormier’s best known Canadian projects are Place d’Youville (2002-08) Dorchester Square (2010) and Clock Tower Beach (2012). In 1999, Cormier completed Blue Stick Gardenat the inaugural Métis Garden Festival, an ensemble of painted blue sticks inspired by Victorian gardens. Standing in contrast to what was once a conservative field in Canadian society, Cormier set up his office Claude Cormier + associes in Montreal in 1993 but considered Toronto his “second home.” Cormier’s first commission came that same year with a temporary installation in Bar Le Business, Montreal entitled Enchanted Forest. In Cambridge, Cormier studied Olmsted for his “broad social vision” and shared affinity for agronomy. Later he described himself as the “the illegitimate love child” of Schwartz and Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. At Harvard, Cormier was influenced by the work of Martha Schwartz and Peter Walker. A year of his education in 1994 was financed by Phyllis Lambert in exchange for Cormier’s consulting work on the stewardship of Lamber’s recently completed Canadian Centre for Architecture. He completed his undergraduate degree in agronomy at the University of Guelph in 1982 and then finished a bachelor of landscape architecture at the University of Toronto in 1986.Īfter studying in Canada, Cormier completed a masters degree in the history and theory of design at Harvard GSD. In 1976, Cormiers father died altering the course of his education.
Cormier studied agronomy at Laval University in Québec with the intention of taking over his family’s farm. His father, Laurent, was a farmer and his mother, Solange, a teacher. In 1960, Cormier was born into a working class family in rural Québec. “He inspired numerous generations of landscape architects during his career, with local, national, and international reach.” The Ring in Montreal by CCxA (JF Savaria/Courtesy CCxA) “Day after day, Claude played the roles of mentor, teacher, boss, colleague, friend, and confidant, with a leadership style based on expertise, boldness, rigour, humour, love, and generosity,” Cormier’s office CCxA said in a public statement.
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