Maurice Sunderland (1926-2002) was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He came to Canada after the War and lived initially in Toronto and Vancouver. In 1950 he moved to Calgary, where he would remain for the duration of his life. In July 1956 he formed a partnership with Jack Abugov called Abugov and Sunderland. The partnership ended around 1981. After the old firm dissolved, Sunderland's formed Maurice Southerland Architecture, Inc. Soon after, he was hired by the Ghermezian family to design West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America, the projects for which he is best remembered.

In 1958 Sunderland married Josephine _____. They had three children: Mark, Stephen, and Ilana. Sunderland died on 22 August 2002 at age 76.