Claude Cormier, landscape architect behind rainbow balls in Montreal's Village, dies at 63

Claude Cormier, Quebec's most renowned landscape architect whose projects have revitalized public spaces across North America, has died.

He was 63.

In Montreal, the award-winning architect was famously known for coating The Village in a beautiful rainbow display created by thousands of coloured balls. He designed the decorative balls — later dubbed 18 Shades of Gay — which were suspended over a 1-kilometre stretch of Ste-Catherine Street. They were meant to be installed for just one summer, but ended up staying there for seven years.

A spokesperson for the architecture firm he founded, CCxA, confirmed in a statement that Cormier died at his home in Montreal on Friday due to complications from Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic condition that is associated with a heightened risk of developing several types of cancer.

In Montreal, his work can be seen in the zig-zag paths that cross through Place d'Youville in Old Montreal, Clock Tower Beach with its signature blue umbrellas on the city's waterfront, the 52 pink concrete trees that make up the Lipstick Forest, and the sliced-in-half water fountain that he designed in the rejuvenated Dorchester Square.

"Cormier’s joyful and subversive designs blended conceptual clarity with a studied instinct for making enduring places. His ability to design public spaces with broad public appeal stemmed from multiple qualities: audacity, sincerity, discipline, leadership, business acumen, a talent for creative problem solving, and an ability to bring light and laughter to everyone — and every situation — he encountered," reads an obituary published Friday. 

Cormier, who studied history and theory of design at Harvard University, also was the brainchild of projects in Toronto, such as Sugar Beach and the city's Berczy Park — a project he faced criticism from bureaucrats for by incorporating life-sized bronze dog statues into the space.

He has also been described as an "ambassador for queer issues" through his work.

"Whether conveyed through the pink columns of Lipstick Forest (2002), Sugar Beach’s signature pink umbrellas near the base of Toronto’s Gay Village, or the rainbow balls of Cormier’s brilliant Pink Balls (2011-2016) and 18 Shades of Gay (2017-2019) installations that hung over Montreal's Sainte-Catherine Street East every summer for nearly a decade, the expression of queer joy was an important dimension of Cormier’s design identity," the obituary reads.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said his death was "an immense loss," describing Cormier as "a visionary, a builder and a great Montrealer."

"His influence on the city's icons and public squares can be counted by the dozens: the Oval, Village Boules, Dorchester Square, Horloge Beach and more. His architectural work is a legacy that will live on in our memories forever," she wrote in a social media post on Friday.

"My sympathies to his family, loved ones and all those who mourn him today. Thank you for everything, Claude, and may you rest in peace."

Cormier grew up on a family farm run by his father, Laurent, in Princeville, Que., a town about 180 kilometres northeast of Montreal. His mother, Solange, was a teacher. In 2009, he received the Ordre National du Québec and has received more than 100 awards during his career as a landscape architect.

His last major projects were in the cities he loved most — Montreal and Toronto. The Ring, a massive, 30-metre-diameter steel loop, was inaugurated last year in Montreal's Place Ville Marie. Earlier this year, he unveiled a heart-shaped pond in Love Park in Toronto's downtown waterfront.

CANCER AFFLICTED HIS FAMILY

Cancer had struck the Cormier family particularly hard. The disease has taken the life of his sister at 53 in 2009, his father in 1976, and the lives of several aunts and uncles on his father's side.

About four years ago, Cormier was diagnosed with lung cancer, kidney cancer, as well as a rare form of lymphoma, according to his obituary.

The triple diagnosis led him to probe possible genetic origins of the rare condition he had. He later learned that several relatives on his father's side had been afflicted by Li-Fraumeni Syndrome.

Cormier is survived by his mother, sister, brother, nieces and nephew and several colleagues at CCxA.