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Claude Cormier, 1960-2023, one of Canada's greatest landscape architects, has passed away due to complications from Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that predisposes carriers to multiple cancers. Cormier and his Montreal-based firm, formerly known as Claude Cormier + Associés, and known since November 2022 as CCxA, have been responsible for dozens of celebrated park and green space designs across Canada and in the United States, China, England, and France, but Cormier's whimsical touch was particularly embraced in Montreal, where the firm is located, and in the Greater Toronto Area where several of their spaces have been completed, and many more are still to come.
Cormier's works typically work their way into everyone's mental map of the city; once another one has been completed, it's tough to imagine the city without it. Cormier's first big splash in Toronto was HTO Park, with its permanent yellow umbrellas dotting the "urban beach," surpassed in the public mind a few years later by Sugar Beach and its permanent pink umbrellas.
The mist garden, Victorian pedestal fountain (non-operating—too much wind!), and rose-patterned paving at the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences added his touch to Yorkville area, while the Evergreen Brick Works went from quarry to lush rural oasis in the Rosedale area of the Don Valley.
Berczy Park became another indelible addition to Toronto's cityscape when it opened on Front Street in 2017. Not necessarily everyone knows its name, the pronunciation of which is still debated, but everyone knows "the dog fountain" and the little park often pulls good-sized crowds. Watching dogs check out the dog fountain is a particular delight.
Jennifer Keesmaat, former Chief Planner at the City of Toronto and now partner at Markee Developments told us "Claude leaves behind an incredible legacy of work in Toronto, Montreal, and elsewhere — his passion and vision produced some of our country’s most beloved public spaces. He pushed us to think differently about public space, to believe again in beauty, whimsy and play. I'll never forget our disbelief at the City of Toronto when he proposed the dog fountain for Berczy Park. Porcelain dogs! Most of us responded with complete disbelief. But he was so convincing we couldn't say no. He made us believe we should reach higher, try for more. And now one of our most cherished new squares will live on as a tribute to his memory, as will many more. He will be greatly missed by those of us inspired by his legacy."
Cormier was sought after by developers for landscape work at residential and commercial developments as well. Completed spaces in Toronto can be found at The Selby, Backstage on the Esplanade, River City, 300 Front, Daniels Waterfront, King Portland Centre, and others. Local spaces partially complete or still to come include Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, The Well, 88 Queen East, Scrivener Court, Maple House at Canary Landing, 25 St Mary, Leslie Slip Lookout Park, 5207 Dundas West, St Clair Place, and more.
Love Park was Cormier's most recent big opening in Toronto this June. Sorting out the PH balance in the pond is still taking some doing, but the giant heart-shaped water feature, ringed in rich red mosaic tiles, is a classic of the "instant classic" variety, having been quickly adopted as an essential addition to the city. With its extensive bench seating, a trellis that will be covered in wisteria over time, new trees to add to the mature ones that could be saved on the site, and bronze animals that appear here and there in the park — like at Berczy Park and at The Cats Parkette at The Well — Love Park is aptly named for the admiration it has quickly engendered.
Anyone who met Cormier can be counted upon for an effusive reaction when you mention him, as Cormier himself exuded warmth. You could tell he simply loved people, and loved to create spaces that would bring joy. Following the opening ceremonies of Berczy Park, Cormier joined UrbanToronto staff and Forum members for a get-together at the pub in the Flatiron Building just beside the park. Cormier was happy to chat about anything, and revelled in people's reactions to his work. When you told him how much you loved some aspect of whatever he was doing, he also made sure to tell you that it wasn't all just him, and spread the love around to his colleagues at the firm.
The announcement of Cormier's death by CCxA contains much more about Cormier's work, and no doubt there will be extensive design community coverage of his passing in the coming weeks. Of note, I'll quote this section; "Driven by the desire to give back as he himself had benefited from the generosity of others in his early career, Claude bestowed a major gift in 2020 — the Claude Cormier Award in Landscape Architecture — to the University of Toronto to support creative excellence and bolster landscape architecture recognition. A major retrospective entitled Serious Fun: The Landscapes of Claude Cormier by Marc Treib and Susan Herrington, was published in 2021, highlighting the importance and uniqueness of his work. The recent renaming of his firm of 15 professionals to CCxA marked the passing of the torch to his long-standing collaborators - Sophie Beaudoin, Marc Hallé, Guillaume Paradis, and Yannick Roberge – committed to perpetuate a unique approach at the crossroads of design and art, nature and artifice."
UrbanToronto extends our condolences and sympathy to all those who worked and spent time with Claude Cormier. Toronto and Montreal are better cities because of him, he will be missed.
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