For Cardinal, this approach did not develop naturally. In fact, he confesses to a certain degree of myopia early on in his career. “When I first started playing architect, I was working on my own vision, but it was like playing to a mirror. After about five years of working like this, I went to Texas [for graduate studies at the University of Texas School of Architecture] and became involved in the human rights movement. I came to understand that progress is only made possible by heeding the will of the people.” Turning away from self-reflection proved to be the launching point for a new way of working with clients and for the development of Cardinal’s signature style. The flowing, harmonious nature of his work can be seen in critically lauded buildings such as St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer, Alberta and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec. Cardinal contends that these projects would not have been successful if not for his close working relationship with his clients, including the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., an assignment from which Cardinal was controversially removed prior to its completion.
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