Ernest Cormier
Encyclopedia
Ernest Cormier, OC
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(December 5, 1885-January 1, 1980) was a Canadian engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who spent much of his career in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
area, erecting notable examples of Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture.
Life and career
He was born in Montreal, the son of a medical doctor, and he studied civil engineering at the École PolytechniqueÉcole Polytechnique de Montréal
The École Polytechnique de Montréal is an engineering school/faculty affiliated with the University of Montreal in Montreal, Canada. It ranks first in Canada for the scope of its engineering research. It is occasionally referred to as Montreal Polytechnic, although in Quebec English its French...
in Montreal. After graduation in 1906, he worked in the research department of the Dominion Bridge Company
Dominion Bridge Company
Dominion Bridge Company Limited was a Canadian steel bridge constructor originally based in Lachine, Quebec. From the core business of steel bridge component fabrication, the company diversified into related areas such as the fabrication of holding tanks for pulp mills and skyscraper framing.Other...
in Montreal. In 1909, he studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
in Paris in the atelier of Jean-Louis Pascal
Jean-Louis Pascal
Jean-Louis Pascal was an academic French architect.- Life :Born in Paris, Pascal was taught at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts by Émile Gilbert and Charles-Auguste Questel...
. In 1914, he was the recipient of the Henry Jarvis Scholarship, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
. Through its British Prix de Rome, Cormier spent two years in the Eternal City, where he studied the ancient works. Following his return to Paris in January 1917, he was employed by the engineering firm of Considère, Pelnard et Caquot, specialists in concrete, and he graduated as an architect of the French Government (DPLG).
He was a professor at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal (1921–1954).
Université de Montréal
Cormier's major work is the central building of the Université de MontréalUniversité de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
on the north slope of Mount Royal
Mount Royal
Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...
. This huge example of the Art Deco style was built between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the middle of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and it has been kept in a nearly pristine shape over the decades. The only major destruction of his designs took place within the interior spaces. These changes occurred in the 1970s when the great multi-storey hall of the central library was filled up with several smaller, single-storey rooms for the faculty of medicine and its library.
Casault pavilion
Another important example of Cormier's work can be found on another Québec university campus, the Casault pavilion of Université LavalUniversité Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
, familiarly known by students as the 'Louis-Jacques'. Designed in 1948 but only completed in 1960, it is a massive cathedral-like building, originally designed as Québec City's Grand Séminaire, which is particularly spectacular viewed from a distance along the impressive mall that runs along the East-West axis of the campus grounds. Despite an unfortunate renovation scheme in the 1970s, which gutted the chapel, filled in the magnificent enclosed courtyard and transformed the interior into an undecipherable labyrinth, the building has become the most recognized landmark of the second oldest university in North America and home to Laval's faculties of Music and Communications, as well as to Québec's National Archives.
Rhode Island Churches
Cormier also designed two important Roman Catholic Churches for the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. One of them, St. John the Baptist ChurchSt. John the Baptist Church (Pawtucket, Rhode Island)
St. John the Baptist Church is an historic church at 68 Slater in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.The church was built in 1925 and added to the National Historic Register in 1983.St...
of Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Maison Cormier
Cormier's own homeMaison Cormier
Cormier House is an Art deco residence in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, located at 1418 Pine Avenue.- Description :It was built by architect Ernest Cormier as his own residence in 1930-31, and also served as the residence of Pierre Trudeau, following his retirement from politics, until Trudeau's death...
, on Montreal's avenue des Pins, is one of the finest examples of an Art Deco dwelling in the world. Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
purchased the building and lived there following his retirement until his death in 2000.
Supreme Court of Canada Building
Cormier is also responsible for the classic chateau-styled Supreme Court of CanadaSupreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
building (1939-40) in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Other commissions
He was a design consultant for the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
building in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Cormier designed St. Michael's College School
St. Michael's College School
St. Michael's College School is a private, all-boys Roman Catholic day school in Toronto, Canada. Currently administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada, with an enrollment of approximately 1,080 students from grades 7 to 12. St...
(1950) and Carr Hall at St. Michael's College
University of St. Michael's College
The University of St. Michael's College is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1852 by the Congregation of St. Basil of Annonay, France. While mainly an undergraduate college for liberal arts and sciences, St. Michael's retains its Roman Catholic affiliation through its postgraduate...
(University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, 1954).
Style and legacy
In addition to showing a great balance, in most of his buildings, between the disciplines of engineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, Cormier also had great skills as a painter and illustrator. He has left us many stunning renderings of his works, done in the planning stages.
In 1974, Cormier was inducted into the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
by Governor General
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
Jules Léger
Jules Léger
Jules Léger was a Canadian diplomat and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 21st since Canadian Confederation....
, and received numerous honours and awards. The Édifice Ernest-Cormier
Édifice Ernest-Cormier
Édifice Ernest-Cormier was the second courthouse in Montreal to bear the name Palais de justice de Montréal. It was built between 1922 and 1926, and designed by architects Louis-Auguste Amos, Charles J. Saxe and Ernest Cormier. It was the first major commission for Cormier after his return to...
, the Quebec Court of Appeal
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal for Quebec is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada....
building in Old Montreal
Old Montreal
Old Montreal is the oldest area in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, dating back to New France. Located in the borough of Ville-Marie, the area is bordered on the west by McGill St., on the north by Ruelle des Fortifications, on the east by Berri St. and on the south by the Saint Lawrence River...
, is named in his honour.
Further reading
- Isabelle Gourney, editor, Ernest Cormier and the Université de Montréal. Translation by Terrance Hughes and Nancy Côté. Montréal : Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1990.
- Adrian Tinniswood, The Art Deco House: Avant-Garde Houses of the 1920s and 1939s. New York: Watson-Guptil Publications, 2002.
- Ulysses Travel GuidesUlysses Travel GuidesUlysses Travel Guides is a Canadian publisher.Specializing in travel guides, Ulysses publishes guides for independent travellers.In addition to publishing its own guides, Ulysses also acts as a retailer and distributor through its two Montréal bookstores and its distribution network which supplies...
,
External links
- Ernest Cormier archive at the Canadian Centre for ArchitectureCanadian Centre for ArchitectureThe Canadian Centre for Architecture is a museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Phyllis Lambert is the Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Mirko Zardini is the Director and Chief Curator....