Peter Cardew

Cardew won numerous awards for his work, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Gold Medal in 2012.

These early memories caused Cardew to be inclined to use bare concrete in his architecture, as it resonated with childhood feelings of safety.

Prior to his completion of a Diploma in Architecture in 1965,[3] he took a year off to work on an exhibition pavilion with Max Bächer Architect in Stuttgart, West Germany, from 1961 to 1962.

[4] During Cardew's tenures with Rhone & Iredale — where he became a partner in 1974 — he contributed to several fine designs, including the Crown Life Building and False Creek Row Houses.

[6] Characterized by glass cladding and a concrete core, the building rests on a brick plinth, showing the rich materiality of the properties.

The plaza features a reflecting pool, a cascading waterfall and one-storey retail pavilion that imitates the triangular footprint of the office tower.

[3] He consistently kept his practice small, low-profile, and limited in size and number of projects, so as to remain significantly involved and assure the quality of work.

Because of the poor condition of the site, Cardew designed the main structure as a grand steel canopy suspended by a gantry system with three foundation locations.

[3] Completed to serve the community of the Chilcotin region in central British Columbia, Stone Band School houses a library, offices, classrooms for kindergarten and grade levels, and a yet unbuilt gymnasium for a second phase.

Clusters of classrooms and offices are placed around a central gathering core, illuminated by a glazed conical skylight which is assembled of peeled fir poles.

[3] In 1996, the Charles H. Scott Gallery at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver held the exhibition Peter Cardew: Ordinary Buildings, which later toured across North America.