CBC

The Ottawa architect who created the original design for the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington has refused to attend the building's grand opening Tuesday, claiming the finished museum to be "a compromised work of art." Douglas Cardinal, best known for designing the Canadian Museum of Civilization, was fired from the Smithsonian project in Washington in 1998. He said those who took over ruined his vision and attending the launch would be to absolve the museum of the wrong it has done to him. "It would be too hard for me to see how it's been compromised," he told CBC News. "It's a compromised work of art." Cardinal said the building is a forgery of his work: while it includes his signature curvilinear shapes, he said it lacks the details he would have brought to it.