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Honorary Doctorate to Douglas Cardinal,
Architect
presented by David Staines, Dean, Faculty of Arts
2003-06-03
Chancelor:
We should occupy buildings, but all too often, buildings occupy us. We
regularly find ourselves imprisoned in structures that offer neither comfort
nor stimulation, providing little more than a way of keeping the elements
at bay. These are places that have failed to inspire the people who designed
them, and the people who go on to inhabit them will fare little better.
Douglas Cardinal resents this lack of inspiration when he encounters
it. And he encounters it wherever the needs of an impersonal system have
been set above the aspirations of the human beings who must operate within
that system. During the course of his career, he has worked tirelessly
to reverse these priorities, and the result is immediately evident in
the buildings he has brought into the world.
Pour M. Cardinal, la création de tout immeuble est un acte spirituel
intense, qui doit exiger le meilleur de tous ceux qui y participent. De
cette façon d'envisager son travail découle son style architectural,
sa marque de commerce : des formes toutes en courbes, à la fois
sauvages et sensuelles, qu'on dirait parfois tout droit sorties du paysage
qui les entoure. Ses structures ne "s'élèvent"
pas au sens classique du terme, mais se "fondent" plutôt
naturellement dans leur environnement; elles nous rappellent de façon
saisissante
que l'architecture est avant tout une forme d'expression visuelle, où
fonction et technique traduisent poétiquement nos désirs.
There is nothing accidental about Mr. Cardinal's outlook. The son of
a game warden, descended from native and European stock, he grew up in
Alberta with that uniquely Canadian perspective drawn from the Old World
of Europe as well as the even older world of aboriginal culture. Educated
by Jesuits, he acquired an early appreciation of symbolism and the inherent
beauty of rituals, as well as a love for the Church buildings and their
many trappings.
It was therefore fitting that his first major architectural commission
was a Roman Catholic Church in Red Deer, Alberta. Working closely with
the parish's German-born Oblate priest, Mr. Cardinal brought classical
Baroque elements to the vast sweep of the prairies, sculpting a shape
that remains bold and imposing without sacrificing the intimacy that is
so essential to the Church.
That was in 1967. Young Douglas Cardinal had just completed his architectural
degree in Texas a few years earlier. This startling design drew a great
deal of attention to a newcomer in the field. And this was to be just
the first example of a spiritual outpouring
that would find its way into buildings across Canada over the next three
decades.
Il est devenu l'un des premiers architectes à utiliser au maximum
l'ordinateur, un précurseur mondial dans ce domaine. Il a aussi
exercé une grande influence en éducation, aidant le gouvernement
de l'Alberta à formuler un schéma directeur provincial en
matière
d'éducation. Ses travaux lui ont également permis d'être
à la fine pointe en matière de planification urbaine, de
santé publique et d'enjeux environnementaux. Tout cela sans jamais
perdre de vue l'architecture, l'art qui anime la matière dont nous
faisons nos
demeures.
Comme il se doit, son audace lui a valu d'être honoré et
contesté par ses confrères; ses prestigieuses réalisations
sont reconnues partout en Amérique du Nord et en Europe, mais ici
même, dans notre région, nous avons la chance d'apprécier
son talent chaque jour.
Here in Ottawa, just outside these doors, we are blessed by one of his
most outstanding accomplishments, the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Here Mr. Cardinal has established for us an ongoing dialogue between the
sharp-edged Gothic splendor of the
Parliament Buildings and the smooth, intricate, complex surfaces of the
museum across the river. Their exchange leaves few visitors unmoved, and
remains a source of endless fascination for the capital's residents. While
none of us may occupy this particular building, it occupies us in a most
positive and rewarding way.
By way of expressing our gratitude, Chancellor, and in the name of the
Senate of the University of Ottawa, I present to you for the degree of
Doctor of the University, Douglas Cardinal, who continues to occupy us
in a most fundamental fashion.
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