Claude Cormier (June 22, 1960 – September 15, 2023) was a Canadian landscape architect from Quebec. The majority of his projects are located in Montreal and Toronto. His landscape practice was founded in 1994. In March 2022, the practice Claude Cormier + associes became CCxA in light of new partners.

Biography

Claude Cormier studied History & Theory of Design at Harvard University, Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto, Agronomy at the University of Guelph, and established the firm CCxA (formerly Claude Cormier et Associés) in Montreal in 1994. Over the years, the firm has been engaged to work on major public works in Montreal, Toronto, and the USA and has received more than 100 awards. In 2010, the Harvard University Graduate School of Design organised an exclusive retrospective exhibition of the firm "Erratics". In 2009, Cormier was Knighted to the Ordre National du Québec, the province's highest distinction for individuals who have contributed to the development and leadership of Quebec. Cormier was also selected as an Emerging Voice for North America by the Architectural League of New York, as well as one of 14 international designers advancing the design field by Fast Company Magazine. Last year the firm was invited by Phaidon Press to be featured in a publication as one of the top 30 worldwide Landscape architects in the world. Serious Fun: The Landscapes of Claude Cormier, the first book exclusively dedicated to Claude Cormier's practice, was published in Fall 2021 at Oro editions. Cormier died on September 15, 2023, at the age of 63, of multiple cancers caused by Li-Fraumeni syndrome. In 2024, Claude Cormier was posthumously awarded the 2024 Governor General's Medal in Landscape Architecture (GGMLA) from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA).

Projects

Design philosophy

During his time at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Cormier studied the works of two "seemingly contradictory" landscape architects, Martha Schwartz and Frederick Law Olmsted. He once described as main influences as "Martha is mom and Olmsted is dad".

Canada

In Toronto, Cormier won two design competitions for the Sugar Beach project and for the HtO project.

USA and abroad