I'm owed $1M for 'forged' masterpiece, architect says

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Archiseek / Canada / News / 2004 / September 1

'Oh no, no, no!" Ottawa architect Douglas Cardinal groans as he examines photos of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., which is due to open Sept. 21. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall, the new $199-million U.S. museum was supposed to be Mr. Cardinal's masterpiece, the highlight of a 40-year career. Instead, Mr. Cardinal -- who was dismissed from the project in 1998 -- calls the building a "forgery" and has refused an invitation to attend the grand opening celebrations. "If I go there, they would be absolved of everything I went through," says the 70-year-old Metis. "I would be used again." Mr. Cardinal, who is known internationally for his undulating Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, claims he is owed $1 million in unpaid fees. In 1993, he won the architectural commission of the decade: a 260,000-square-foot-museum for the Smithsonian Institution. The 4.25-acre site was the last available space on the Mall, a boulevard lined with museums.

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