Lecture Information

A lecture followed by a conversation moderated by students of TSOA and ASU
‍1 AIA CE credit

‍Lecture Series Sponsor
‍Swaback Architects + Planners
‍Event Co-Host
ASU Design School Architecture Program
‍Series Co-Sponsor
Arizona Architecture Foundation

‍For Douglas Cardinal, Organic Architecture is the discipline that creates spaces that come from the heart and touch the soul. Following his Indigenous teachings and Western masters such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Douglas Cardinal’s organic architectural process aims to manifest an ode to Mother Earth’s values, and the nurturing power of engendering creativity. Douglas Cardinal will share his unique Western and Indigenous education that has allowed him to blend the principles of Organic Architecture into his own signature style. He will showcase three projects to illustrate this point: St. Mary’s Project (1968), the National Museum of the American Indian (1998, 2004), and Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre for the University of Saskatchewan (2016). * Shown in photo.

The Speaker
Born in 1934 in Calgary, Alberta, his architectural studies at the University of British Columbia took him to Frank Lloyd’s School of Architecture at Taliesin West, and to the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin, Texas where he graduated with honours in 1963. His Western academic training corresponded with intense Indigenous teachings at Small Boys Camp and Wyoming. Following the blending of these two worldviews, Douglas Cardinal is a forerunner of all philosophies of sustainability, green buildings, and ecologically designed community planning. Indeed, his Organic Architecture springs from his observation of Nature and the understanding that everything works seamlessly together. His master plans for Indigenous communities and concept for Indian Control of Indian Education in the early 1970s brought early Indigenous schools such as Kehewin Elementary School and Diamond Jenness High School in Hay River which led to the First Nations University, and Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. Perhaps best known for designing the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, we cannot forget the smaller but pivotal Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute in the Village of Ouje-Bougamou also designed by Douglas Cardinal. The major buildings of his early career in Alberta are extraordinary examples of organic architecture, namely the iconic St Mary’s Church, Grande Prairie College, the Alberta Government Services Building in Ponoka, Saint Albert Place, and Telus Science Museum. Also blending the best of Indigenous and Western approaches to architecture are his health centers, Meno-ya-win Hospital, Wabano Aboriginal Health Centre, and Goodyear Adelante Healthcare Center in Arizona.

In recognition of his visionary contribution to architecture, Douglas Cardinal has received many acknowledgments and awards including twenty-one Honourary Doctorates from several universities in Canada and the United States, the appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada, Gold Medals in Architecture by the Royal Architectural Institute in Canada, and the Union of Architects of Russia, honourary fellowships in the Society of American Registered Architects and the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, the nomination of Commander of the Order of the Civil Merit by the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and the declaration of being "World Master of Contemporary Architecture" as a Professor and Academician by the International Association of Architects. Douglas Cardinal was also an early recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards and is a deeply respected member of the Indigenous community as an Elder, Pipe Carrier, Lodge Keeper, and Eagle Headdress-Carrier of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Douglas Cardinal continues his holistic multidisciplinary architectural practice in Ottawa, Ontario where he currently resides with his wife and partner Idoia Arana-Beobide.

‍This event kicks off TSOA's 2024-25 Lecture Series