Claude Cormier Oral History Premiere

On Thursday, June 27, TCLF will premiere excerpts from the full oral history of Claude Cormier (1960-2023) at the Canadian Center of Architecture.

Cormier’s impact on the profession of landscape architecture and the built environment is undeniably substantial. Cormier was independent, audacious, visionary, an artist, outrageous, declarative, principled, mischievous, inventive, gay, entertaining, and persistent, among his many qualities and attributes. As his firm’s website notes: “A great lover of the city, of culture, and of art, Claude truly blazed a new trail in landscape architecture with poetic, inspiring, and uplifting work that challenged the modernist orthodoxy of public space, all the while remaining practical and appreciated in a popular context. He invited people to laugh, to come together, to see things differently.”

A month before Cormier passed away on September 15, 2023, at age 63, Charles A. Birnbaum, President and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), spent several days interviewing him at his home and office in Montreal. On a subsequent trip, videographer Barrett Doherty (who videotaped the Montreal interview) recorded important projects in Toronto. The results are featured in a riveting, entertaining, and revelatory new video oral history about Cormier’s life, design philosophy, and significant built works.

In addition, on Friday, June 28, there will be a daylong excursion to several Cormier-designed projects in Montreal led by the firm’s four principals – Sophie Beaudoin, Marc Hallé, Guillaume Paradis, and Yannick Roberge – along with a private lunch. This commemorative event is extremely limited; there is a separate registration for this daylong event.

Host or Publisher The Cultural Landscape Foundation