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Symbolic form and function

In his 1984 winning bid for the creation of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (now renamed the Canadian Museum of History) Canadian Architect Douglas Cardinal stated the following:

“The museum will be a symbolic form. It will speak of the emergence of this continent, its forms sculptured by the winds, the rivers, the glaciers. It will speak of the emergence of man from the melting glaciers; of man and woman living in harmony with the forces of nature and evolving with them. It will show the way in which man first learned to cope with the environment, then mastered it and shaped it to the needs of his own goals and aspirations. It will depict man as a creature of the earth who knows his tremendous power to change his environment, yet understands that he must live in harmony with it... The building itself should truly aspire to be an artifact of our time, a celebration of man's evolution and achievement. It should point optimistically to the future, promising man's continued growth to a higher form of life, exploring not just this continent or planet but outer space as well. It should endeavour to be a spiritual act, and should demand from all those contributing to its design and construction the very best of their endeavours.”

His vision convinced the selection committee that he was the right architect for the job, “of all the submissions, his seemed to achieve the best balance between the relationship of the museum to the land, and the relationship of humans to that environment.”

The Museum subsequently opened in 1989 and quickly became Canada’s most visited museum.