On Thursday, June 27, 2024, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) released a video oral history with the late landscape architect Claude Cormier.
The 115-minute-long Cormier oral history is divided into 28 two- to five-minute clips and organized under the themes of biography, design, and projects.
Cormier was the creative force behind of some of Canada’s most beloved, joyous, and critically acclaimed public spaces. He passed away at his Montréal, Quebec, home on September 15, 2023, at the age of 63. The cause of death was complications from Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that predisposes carriers to multiple cancers.
Cormier’s joyful and subversive designs blended conceptual clarity with a studied instinct for making enduring places. His ability to design public spaces with broad public appeal stemmed from multiple qualities: audacity, sincerity, discipline, leadership, business acumen, a talent for creative problem solving, and an ability to bring light and laughter to everyone—and every situation—he encountered.
A month before Cormier passed away, Charles A. Birnbaum, president and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), spent several days interviewing him at his home and office in Montréal. On a subsequent trip, videographer Barrett Doherty, who videotaped the Montréal interview, recorded projects in Toronto. The results are featured in the video oral history about Cormier’s life, design philosophy, and significant built works.
To view the full list of clips from the video oral history, click here.
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