This past week, the Vancouver architecture community was saddened to learn of the passing of Peter Cardew, an architectural titan and longtime champion for design excellence in Vancouver. As a recipient of numerous awards over the years, including the RAIC Gold Medal in 2012, his career touched both professionals and academics alike in a half-century tenure that has influenced multiple generations of local architects.
With a multi-storied career that includes his passing up a partnership at a prominent British architecture office at the age of 27, Peter chose instead to come to Vancouver in 1967, joining the office of Rhone & Iredale, where he would work alongside Richard Henriquez and Peter Busby, along with many others who have since gone on to found prominent Vancouver offices.