Douglas Joseph Cardinal OC FRAIC (born 7 March 1934) is a Canadian architect based in Ottawa, Ontario.

Traditional sacred architecture and its role in culture made him want to create spaces as powerful and inspirational as churches and basilicas.

[6] In 1953, he started studying architecture at the University of British Columbia (UBC) but was forced to leave two years later due to his radical ideas.

Cardinal also wanted a change of scenery due to racism towards Indigenous people in his home country so decided to head south, stopping in Arizona and Mexico, and later settling in Texas.

[5] The idea of anthropomorphism and its concept of responding to human behavior, natural cycles of life, and the beauty of sacred land and tectonics aligned with Cardinal's cultural heritage.

Cardinal opened his private practice in 1964, and the same year he was commissioned to design St. Mary's Church in Red Deer, Alberta.

[9] Beginning with his work on St. Mary's, Cardinal was one of the first North American architects to use computers to assist in the design process.

His curvilinear designs reflect the landscape around them, so that people making use of the building can retain a sense of the surrounding land.

[10] In 1993, he was hired by the Smithsonian Institution as the Primary Design Architect for the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).

The NMAI is currently situated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and is directly across from the Capitol of the United States of America.

After contractual disputes, Cardinal was removed from the project in 1998 before it was completed, but he continued to provide input into the building's design.

The Discovery Park of America was to be a unique structure housing a multi level museum with artifacts from across the nation as well as provide a place for large conventions/meetings for the community.

Early in 2009 the firm's contract was terminated with the owner, and all construction activity was halted, due to undisclosed differences between the two parties.

Throughout his early years, Douglas Cardinal was dealing with racism and societal ideas of conformity for both his lifestyle and architecture.

Many philosophical ideas of indigenous history include its respect and sensibility towards nature, humans' inseparable relationship with the environment and land.

These concepts resulted in his use of natural materials, organic shapes, soil and sun studies, as well as creating spaces that move people spiritually and make them appreciative of their surroundings.

Upon his return to Alberta, Cardinal met with Father Werner Merx, who wanted the new church to be innovative and unique.

The archbishop of the church has already appointed another architect for the job, but Merx insisted on hiring Cardinal and realizing his vision.

The archbishop whom they needed to convince turned out to be Anthony Jordan, who helped to resolve legal case for Cardinal 10 years earlier.

He combined all of his philosophical and cultural ideas and created a church that represented his many beliefs towards the nature and organic forms, that is unique and unprecedented for its time.

[13] This building, opened in 1989 as Canadian Museum of Civilization at the time, is another project that is very representative of Cardinal's architectural style.

This approach also translated into the wrapping facade with curves that can embrace and invite people inside and create welcoming environment.

Besides responding to the site conditions, the museum also engages with its historic context by including totem poles and native murals inside the building.

[16] Former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau also encouraged Cardinal to create a museum where people embrace their different backgrounds and learn from each other.

Cardinal was part of a similar group that included some of Canada's most influential architects, such as Moshe Safdie, Raymond Moriyama, Eberhard Zeidler, Arthur Erickson, Ray Affleck and Ron Thom.

[19] Although all of their styles and conceptual vision were different, they all agreed on creating with meaning and beauty, instead of commercial skyscrapers of that era.