Antonín Raymond
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Antonin Raymond (or ), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a
Czech American Czech Americans (), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional l ...
architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), working later in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. Raymond was also the
Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...
of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
to Japan from 1926 to 1939, in which year the Czech diplomacy was closed down after the occupation of the European country by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. Raymond's initial work with American architects
Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of Early skyscrapers, skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minneso ...
and
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
gave him an insight into the use of
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
for texture and structure that he would refine throughout his six-decade career. At studio practices in
New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west b ...
and
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, he explored traditional Japanese building techniques combined with the latest In American building innovations. Raymond applied these principles to a wide range of residential, commercial, religious, and institutional projects in Japan, America,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Along with British architect Josiah Conder, Raymond is recognized as one of the fathers of modern
architecture in Japan Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
.


Biography

Raymond was born on 10 May 1888, in
Kladno Kladno (; ) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 70,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and has a rich industrial history. Administrative division Kladno consists of six municipal parts ...
, Central
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
(now the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
) to Alois Reimann, a
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
of German descent, and his wife Růžena, a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Following the death of his mother and the bankruptcy of his father's shop the family moved to
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
in 1905. Raymond started at the Reálné gymnasium (secondary school aimed at more technical/practical sciences) in Kladno, then continued at a similar school in Prague. In 1906 Raymond entered Vysoká Škola Technická, the Czech Polytechnic Institute, studying under Josef Schultz and Jan Koula. He completed his studies in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
in 1910 before leaving for
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. There, he began a three-year employment with Cass Gilbert, working on a number of projects including external architectural details for the
Woolworth Building The Woolworth Building is a residential building and early skyscraper at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it was the tallest building in the world f ...
and the
Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse The Austin, Nichols and Company Warehouse, also known as 184 Kent Avenue and Austin Nichols House, is a historic warehouse building on the East River between North 3rd and North 4th Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. His experience on the latter of these gave him an insight into the structural and textural properties of concrete. He began studying painting at the Independent School of Art in the Lincoln Square Arcade Building in 1912, but was forced to curtail a painting trip to Italy and North Africa with the onset of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. On his trip back to New York, he met his future wife and business partner, Noémi Pernessin, and they were wed on 15 December 1914. In early 1916 he became an American citizen, naturalizing his name, Antonín Reimann, to Antonin Raymond.


Employment with Frank Lloyd Wright

Raymond's initial encounter with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright came in 1908–1910 when he saw a small monograph and later (1910) a large portfolio of Wright's work published in Berlin. In his autobiography, Raymond recounts how deeply he and his fellow students were impressed by Wright's design: "Wright had restated the principles of building; he had overcome the cell, liberated the plan, made space flow, given buildings a human scale and blended them with nature, all in a romantic, sensual and original way that left us breathless." Through the influence of a mutual friend, Frank Lloyd Wright agreed to employ Raymond in May 1916. Initially, Raymond and Noémi worked with Frank Lloyd Wright at
Taliesin Taliesin ( , ; 6th century AD) was an early Britons (Celtic people), Brittonic poet of Sub-Roman Britain whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the ''Book of Taliesin''. Taliesin was a renowned bard who is believed to ...
in
Spring Green Spring Green or spring green may refer to: Colors * Spring green ** Spring bud, formerly known as spring green Plants * Spring greens, edible young leaves of certain plants * Spring greens (Brassica oleracea), vegetables Places in the United S ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. In 1917 he enlisted with the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, serving overseas with the
American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...
. Upon his discharge from the army and his return to New York, Wright persuaded him to go to Tokyo with him to work on the Imperial Hotel. Although he remained as Wright's chief assistant for one year, Raymond soon became bored with the work. He became concerned that "the design had nothing in common with Japan, its climate, its traditions, its people and its culture". Also, whilst his work with Gilbert showed him the great possibilities of concrete, Wright did not see concrete in the same way, preferring to encase it with brickwork or carved Oya Stone. Although Raymond proposed continuing working for Wright, he was eventually dismissed in January 1921. In February of the same year, he set up the American Architectural and Engineering Company in Tokyo with Leon Whittaker Slack.


Japan and the Inter-war years

In the Tokyo Woman's Christian College, commenced in 1924, Raymond's architecture can be seen to still be heavily influenced by Wright. Its low, hipped roof and overhanging eaves are reminiscent of Wright's Prairie Houses. This early work also demonstrates his interest in
Czech Cubism Czech Cubism (referred to more generally as Cubo-Expressionism) was an avant-garde art movement of Czech proponents of Cubism, active mostly in Prague from 1912 to 1914. Prague was perhaps the most important center for Cubism outside Paris before ...
and the work of
Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...
. After their own house was destroyed in the
Great Kantō earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...
, Raymond designed a new one, the Reinanzaka House, in
Azabu, Tokyo is an area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Aza ...
. His desire to free himself from Wright's influence led him to explore spatial relationships between living, working and dining areas and how spaces could be closed off with folding screens.The house is built almost entirely of
in situ is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is use ...
concrete. Raymond's workforce were enthusiastic in their use of this new material, likening it to the walls of traditional ''
kura Kura may refer to: Places * Kura, Iran (disambiguation) * Kura Island, Azerbaijan * Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State * Kura (South Caucasus river), a river in Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan * Kura (Russia), a river in Ru ...
'' storehouses. The house itself had metal fenestration, tubular steel trellises and traditional
rain chain Rain chains (, or ', literally "chain-gutter") are alternatives to a downspout. They are widely used in Japan. Their purpose is largely decorative, to make a water feature out of the transport of rainwater from the guttering downwards to a drain ...
s rather than rainwater downpipes. The interior too was well in advance of other houses of the
International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...
with the use of cantilevered tubular steel furniture. After a number of staff changes, the practice was renamed Antonin Raymond, Architect.


Czechoslovak Consul in Japan

Despite becoming a
naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
American citizen in 1916, Raymond became the honorary consul for the
Czechoslovak Republic Czechoslovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika'', ČSR), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See: *First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) *Second Czechoslovak Republic ...
, representing the government of T. G. Masaryk. This gave him influence outside those circles normally associated with an architect of his age. From 1928 to 1930, Raymond designed and remodelled the American, Soviet and French embassies. He also undertook work for the Rising Sun Petroleum Company, designing 17 earthquake-proof and fireproof employee houses, the general office building, the manager's residence and two prototype service stations, one in steel and the other in concrete. All were constructed in an International Modern Style.


Corbusier inspiration

Since the Reinanzaka House, Raymond had been interested in the work of Swiss-French architect
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
. He acknowledged that further contribution of Corbusier's ideas to the practice came in 1930, when
Kunio Maekawa was a Japanese architect and a key figure in Japanese postwar modernism. After early stints in the studios of Le Corbusier and Antonin Raymond, Maekawa began to articulate his architectural language after establishing his firm in 1935, mainta ...
(who had just returned from two years working for Le Corbusier in his Paris office) joined. He later applied Le Corbusier's ideas to vernacular
Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...
. Based upon Le Corbusier's unbuilt residential scheme for Mr. Errazuris in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, he designed a summer house for himself in
Karuizawa, Nagano is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Originally, there was a stage station ( ...
. Where Corbusier had used rough masonry and a tiled
butterfly roof A butterfly roof (sometimes called a V roof) is a form of roof characterised by an inversion of a standard roof form, with two roof surfaces sloping down from opposing edges to a valley near the middle of the roof. It is so called because its ...
, Raymond used cedar with larch thatch. Although the design was criticised by an American reviewer for being a copy of Le Corbusier's design, the Frenchman was so flattered and surprised that he included a photo of it in the third volume of his ''Oeuvre complète'':
Please be assured that there is no bitterness between us, but–as you yourself say–you made a slight mistake, that is you neglected to send me a note when you published the images of your Tokyo house, which is very pretty, by the way. ''Extract of a letter from Le Corbusier to Antonin Raymond, 7 May 1935.''
In 1922, Raymond had been admitted to Tokyo Golf Club and when it relocated to
Asaka, Saitama file:Pond at JGSDF Camp Asaka.jpg, 260px, Pond at JGSDF Camp Asaka file:JGSDF Camp Asaka Shinbudai Kinenkan.jpg, 260px, former IJA Officer Preparatory School at JGSDF Camp Asaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , th ...
in 1932, he was asked to design it. His links to golfer Shiro Akaboshi also led to several residential commissions. In 1937 in Tokyo, Antonin, Noémi and a number of Japanese architects, including
Junzō Yoshimura was a Japanese architect. Early career Yoshimura dated his desire to become an architect to the day he first entered Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, shortly after the Kanto earthquake of 1923. "“It was th ...
, signed ''Articles of Association'' forming a new firm, Reymondo Kenchiku Sekkei Jimushō.


Sri Aurobindo Ashram

In January 1938, Raymond, Noémi, and their son left Tokyo bound for America. This six-month journey took them initially to the Indian subcontinent and then on to Europe, including a trip to
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. In 1935, Raymond's office had accepted a commission to design a dormitory for the
Sri Aurobindo Ashram The Sri Aurobindo Ashram (French: ''Ashram de Sri Aurobindo'') is a spiritual community (ashram) located in Pondicherry (city), Pondicherry, in the Indian territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It was founded by Sri Aurob ...
in
Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...
, part of
French India French India, formally the (), was a French colony comprising five geographically separated enclaves on the Indian subcontinent that had initially been factories of the French East India Company. They were ''de facto'' incorporated into the ...
in southeast India. A preliminary site visit was made by
George Nakashima George Katsutoshi Nakashima ( ''Nakashima Katsutoshi'', May 24, 1905 – June 15, 1990) was an American woodworker and architect. In 1983, he accepted the Order of the Sacred Treasure, an honor bestowed by the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese ...
and the schematic design was completed in 1936. Although Raymond had envisioned that the dormitory would be completed in six months, Sri Aurobindo was concerned that the noise of construction would disturb the ashram, so he decided that the building would be constructed by its residents. Initially, Nakashima, Francois Sammer (a Czech architect who had worked for Le Corbusier in Russia), and Chandulal (a devotee who had trained as an engineer), built a full-scale model of the dormitory in order to test the feasibility of the design, and then used it as a laboratory to further refine the construction methods. Nakashima's duties included doing very explicit detail drawings showing, for example, the design of the concrete formwork. Devotees even donated brass utensils so that they could be melted down to make door handles and hinges. Raymond sought to mitigate the effects of the Pondicherry climate and oriented the Golconde dormitory (as it became known), so that its main facades faced north and south to make use of the prevailing breeze. A combination of moveable louvres on the exterior skin and woven teak sliding doors permitted ventilation without compromising on privacy. The building is still in use as an ashram today. It was the first
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
building in India.


The New Hope experiment

In 1939, Raymond's architectural practice in the United States began with the purchase and conversion of his farm and studio in
New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west b ...
. He and his wife's goal was to "create a physical and intellectual environment that mirrored and supported their approach to modern design, one that synthesized International Style developments with lessons learned from Japan's craft tradition". They hoped that the lifestyle and design ethos that they would create, would be simpler and more in tune with nature, similar in set up to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship. The Raymonds modified the house to create a more open plan feel, separated by Japanese ''
fusuma In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a ''tatami'' mat, and are thick. The ...
'' partitions and ''
shōji A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of Transparency and translucency, translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaq ...
'' screens. The rooms were filled with objects of art, including rugs designed by Noémi and crockery by the
Mingei The concept of , variously translated into English as " folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, includin ...
designer Minagawa Masu. Raymond developed a prospectus for aspiring architects to come and live and study at New Hope and he attracted at least 20. In addition to teaching practical design solutions, the apprentices had hands-on work with various building trades. Farm work and hay making contributed a physical aspect. Students included
Junzō Yoshimura was a Japanese architect. Early career Yoshimura dated his desire to become an architect to the day he first entered Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, shortly after the Kanto earthquake of 1923. "“It was th ...
and Carl Graffunder, and the farm was visited by people like
Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...
and
Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
. Once the students had become settled, Raymond sought real-world projects for them to work upon, to put his theories into practice. Projects included an assortment of houses and extensions in New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. In May 1943, the Raymonds vouched for
George Nakashima George Katsutoshi Nakashima ( ''Nakashima Katsutoshi'', May 24, 1905 – June 15, 1990) was an American woodworker and architect. In 1983, he accepted the Order of the Sacred Treasure, an honor bestowed by the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese ...
and his family, releasing them from a Japanese internment camp in Idaho, so that they could come and live at the New Hope farm.


The war years (1941–1945)

With the approach of the Second World War, Raymond moved back to New York, ending the New Hope experiment. He formed a partnership with civil engineer Arthur Tuttle, structural engineer Elwyn Seelye and mechanical engineer Clyde Place. With the country's emphasis on the war effort, the company focused on US army contracts. Their work included: prefabricated houses at
Camp Kilmer Camp Kilmer is a former United States Army camp in Central New Jersey that was activated in June 1942 as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. The camp was organized as part of the Army Service Forces Tra ...
, New Jersey (1942) and
Camp Shanks Camp Shanks was a United States Army installation in the Orangeburg, New York area. Named after Major General David C. Shanks, it was situated near the juncture of the Erie Railroad and the Hudson River. The camp was the largest U.S. Army embark ...
, New York (1942–1943) and housing and an airport in
Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...
, New Jersey (1943). Controversially, in 1943, Raymond was asked to design a series of middle class Japanese style homes so that the Army could test the effectiveness of ordnance (specifically
incendiaries Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...
) intended for use in targeted air bombing raids on Tokyo and other Japanese cities. These houses were eventually erected on the
Dugway Proving Ground Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a United States Army facility established in 1942 to test biological and chemical weapons, located about southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah and south of the Utah Test and Training Range. Location Dugway Provin ...
, nicknamed " Japanese Village". Raymond admitted in his autobiography that he was not proud of the work.


Practice with Ladislav Rado

After the war, Raymond's practice with Tuttle, Seelye and Place was dissolved. He formed a new company with Slovak architect, Ladislav Leland Rado (1909–1993), and named it Raymond & Rado. Although this company lasted until Raymond's death in 1976, they practised apart, with Rado in the New York office and Raymond in Tokyo. Whilst Raymond explored pottery and sculpture (making friends with
Tarō Okamoto was a Japanese artist, art theorist, and writer. He is particularly well known for his avant-garde paintings, public sculptures, and murals, his theorization of traditional Japanese culture, and his avant-garde artistic practices. Biography ...
and Ade Bethune), Rado pursued an orthogonal rationalism that Raymond would eventually distance himself from. Projects in the United States during the late 1940s allowed Raymond to gain a foothold in
occupied Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...
. This helped to restart the building boom there after the war. This was mainly achieved through contacts made in his previous practice and those that he and Rado made in New York. Their single story Great River Station on the
Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
expressed Raymond's fondness for inexpensive, simple materials. It had
fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...
retaining walls and a flat roof supported in each corner with a redwood post. The wide expanse of glazing created a modernist pavilion. In the St. Joseph the Worker Chapel, Victorias, in the Philippines, Raymond worked with liturgical artist Ade Bethune, to produce mosaic murals and a
lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before ...
tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
inside the reinforced concrete church. The interior was adorned with colourful
fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es by Alfonso Ossorio. The church acted as a social centre for employees of the Ossorio sugar cane refinery. The church is regarded as one of the first examples of modern sacred architecture in the country. The practice were also responsible for a number of parks and recreation buildings across the United States in the late 1940s, built largely to commemorate victory in the war.


The Reader's Digest Building

In 1947, Raymond petitioned
General MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army. He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of ...
for permission to enter occupied Japan in order to participate in the reconstruction process. His staff from Reymondo Kenchiku Sekkei Jimusho had looked after the drawings and documents of the office through the war and Raymond decided to reopen the office.Stewart (1987), p. 165 Raymond received the commission for the
Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
Building from Mrs
DeWitt Wallace William Roy DeWitt Wallace ( ; November 12, 1889 – March 30, 1981), publishing as DeWitt Wallace, was an American magazine publisher. Wallace co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with his wife Lila Bell Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. ...
on his return from Japan in 1949. She wanted a design that would show the best that America could offer. The site acquired for the building was opposite the Hirakawa Gate of the Imperial Palace. Its choice was treated with great resentment by the Japanese who felt that favouritism was shown by the Occupation authorities in allowing an American company to utilise a prominent site that would have served better as a park. Taking influence from Le Corbusier, Raymond responded to this criticism by masterplanning the site by using a
Ville Radieuse Ville radieuse (; ) was an unrealised urban design project designed by the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1930. It constitutes one of the most influential and controversial urban design doctrines of European modernism. Although Le Corbus ...
inspired layout with the building set in gardens with sculptures by the Japanese American sculptor,
Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...
. The long, rectilinear, two-storey building, had a double cantilevered frame supported on a single row of concrete columns. These columns tilted outwards from a vertical position. Floor to ceiling glazing on the second storey opened out onto a balcony running the length of the building. It included technical innovations from America including acoustic ceiling tiles, underfloor electricity ducts and fluorescent lighting. It is considered the first large building in which Raymond managed to use his principles of simplicity, economy of materials, elegance and lightness learned from his residential works. Raymond cited the design of the Hiroshima Peace Museum by Kenzo Tange as being an external imitation of the Reader's Digest Building. Despite winning awards when first completed, the Reader's Digest Building was demolished in 1963 to be replaced by the nine-floor Palaceside Building, a mixed used office building designed by
Shōji Hayashi (23 September 1928 – 30 November 2011) was a Japanese architect. As chief architect of Nikken Sekkei, Nikken Sekkei, Ltd., he designed many notable buildings, including the Palaceside Building in Tokyo, which was selected as one of 20 works of m ...
that for many years has served as the headquarters of the Mainichi Newspaper.


Experimentation in Tokyo

Raymond purchased land in the Nishi Azabu district of Tokyo to build his new office and living quarters. The office was built using the traditional Japanese
post and lintel Post and lintel (also called prop and lintel, a trabeated system, or a trilithic system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold ...
type construction using unplaned timber logs. The office served as a proving ground for the latest American building innovations including veneered plywood and suspended metal ductwork for forced air heating. Taking influence from Le Corbusier's
modulor The Modulor is an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by the Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier (1887–1965). It was developed as a visual bridge between two incompatible scales, the Imperial and the metric systems. It is base ...
, Raymond used the traditional Japanese module of the ken (based upon the size of
tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...
mats) as a unit of measure to set out the building's structure. Again he used fusuma partitions and shoji screens, but in a modern way to divide up the spaces. Raymond sought to use the design and construction of the office as a platform to inform prototype dwellings for the post war reconstruction of Japan. In 1955, Raymond began a commission in
Takasaki, Gunma is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of the ...
Prefecture for a Music Centre to house the Gunma Symphony Orchestra. Out of respect for the historic site and the budget constraints, he designed a building built on three premises: it would have an economical structural system, there would be equality of sight lines and acoustics for each seat, and the building would have a low profile without a
fly tower A fly system, or theatrical rigging system, is a system of ropes, pulleys, counterweights and related devices within a theater (structure), theater that enables a stage crew to fly (hoist) quickly, quietly and safely components such as curtains, ...
. Raymond achieved these aims by using a series of thick, reinforced concrete ribs connected together like an accordion and spanning . In 1961, he was commissioned to design the Catholic-based
Nanzan University is a Private university, private, Catholic and Mixed-sex education, coeducational higher education institution run by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in the Shōwa-ku, Nagoya, Shōwa Ward of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is consi ...
in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
. It was one of the largest projects that he would undertake. The campus was orientated on a north–south axis across rolling hills and the eight buildings were arranged to suit the topography and harmonise with the landscape. In-situ concrete is used throughout the scheme and each building has its own concrete form, some with
pilotis Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in e ...
, others with shells. Located to the east of the Nanzan Campus is the Divine Word Seminary Chapel (1962). This is a building that exploits the plastic capacity of concrete, with two intersecting shells forming a bell tower. These are punctured with vertical slots which allow light to radiate along the curved interior walls.


Influence of his wife Noémi Raymond

Born in 1889 in
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
to Swiss-French parents, Noémi moved to New York in 1900, and later studied Fine Art and Philosophy at
Columbia Teachers College Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...
. Here, she was influenced by the painter and educator
Arthur Wesley Dow Arthur Wesley Dow (April 6, 1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator. Early life Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 188 ...
. During Raymond's period of training as a painter, Noémi supported them both by doing graphic work for publications like the
New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American conservative news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) online-only publisher of political and economic opinion pieces, as we ...
and
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
. When they both moved to Taliesin she became interested in 3D design. She also polished her knowledge of Japanese crafts, becoming a broker for clients such as Rudolph Schindler's wife, Pauline Gibling. Noémi's influence on Raymond during the inter-war years was substantial. She encouraged him to break away from Wright's rigid style and explore the design of the Reinanzaka House. She increased her interest in Japanese art and philosophy, including
ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock printing, woodblock prints and Nikuhitsu-ga, paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes ...
woodblock prints and introduced Raymond to various influential people, including the mystic philosopher
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...
. She expanded her design repertoire to include textiles, rugs, furniture, glass and silverware. Noémi exhibited in Tokyo in 1936 and New York in 1940, and her textiles were chosen by American designers like
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...
to cover furniture in their designs. Noémi also contributed to the design of the studio in Nishiazabu and a series of Raymond's villas during the 1950s, including the Hayama Villa (1958).


A legacy in concrete

When Wright left, Raymond set up his own office, he advertised himself as a specialist in reinforced concrete. He was aware of its textural properties from Cass Gilbert, its structural ones from Wright, and its benefits in relation to earthquake proofing. His first major independent project in 1921 was to design Hoshi Pharmaceutical School, which was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Tokyo. Raymond used precast concrete to form decorative elements for the building, such as window mullions. In a partially successful experiment, he used wooden
formwork Formwork is Molding (process), molds into which concrete or similar materials are either precast concrete, precast or cast-in-place concrete, cast-in-place. In the context of concrete construction, the falsework supports the shuttering mold ...
to imprint a texture onto the concrete (but he chose to cover it up). On the Reinanzaka House, the labourers were skilled in the use of wood, and helped Raymond engrain the texture of cedar onto the concrete. This was further explored on the Tetsuma Akaboshi and the Morinosuke Kawasaki houses, where the concrete walls of the luxurious interiors were imprinted with cypress textures. On the Karuizawa Studio, workmen polished the concrete with sand and straw to reveal the texture of the aggregate. Whilst at Nanzan University, the south facing facades were cast with checkerboard patterns, with applied metalwork casting abstract shadows on the surface. Raymond's techniques endeared him to the Japanese architectural psyche, and in 1958, the editor of the architectural magazine Shinkenchiku, Yoshioka Yasugoro remarked, "it is doubtful that concrete is handled with such pains anywhere except in Japan. The idea of an exposed concrete surface seems to fit in with Japanese ideas of decor." Post war architects like
Tadao Ando is a self-taught Japanese autodidact architect known for his unique integration of architecture and landscape. Architectural historian Francesco Dal Co described his work as an example of " critical regionalism". Ando received the prestigious ...
have become famous for their use of exposed concrete. Raymond's use of a traditional post and beam structure in concrete for the Reinanzaka House was a technique that was adopted by post war Japanese architects such as Kenzo Tange. Predating Le Corbusier's work in
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
, the Golconde dormitory used a monolithic concrete structure with deep overhangs and louvres to adapt to specific climatic conditions. The building pioneered the use of reinforced concrete in India. Antonin Raymond died at St. Mary's Hospital in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, on 25 October 1976, aged 88. His wife Noémi died four years later, aged 91. Raymond Architectural Design Office continues to practice in Tokyo.


Selected works

* Tokyo Woman's Christian College, Tokyo (1921–1938) * Reinanzaka House, Tokyo (1924) * Hoshi University Main Building, Tokyo (1924) * Ehrismann Residence, Yamate, Yokohama (1927) * The American School in Japan, Meguro Campus, Tokyo (1927) * Italian Embassy Villa, Nikko (1929) * Troedsson Villa, Nikko (1931) * Tokyo Golf Club, Asaka (1932) * Summer House, Karuizawa (1933) * Akeboshi Tetsuma House, Tokyo (1933) * Morinosuke Kawasaki House, Tokyo (1934) * Tokyo Woman's Christian College Chapel/Auditorium (1934) * Raymond Farm, New Hope (1939) * The Huyler Building, Buffalo, New York (interior) (1939–1940) * St. Joseph the Worker Church, Victorias City, Negros, the Philippines (1949) * Raymond House and Studio, Azabu (1951) * Reader's Digest Offices, Tokyo (1951) * Cunningham House, Tokyo (1954) * St. Anselm's Church, Tokyo (1954) * Yawata Steel Otani Gymnasium, KitaKyushu (1955), (GoogleEarth 33.862184,130.806841) * Yaskawa Head Offices, KitaKyushu, (1954) * St. Alban's Church, Tokyo (1956) * Hayama Villa, Hayama (1958) * Moji Golf Club, KitaKyushu (1959) * St. Michael's Church, Sapporo (1960) * New Studio, Karuizawa (1962) * St. Paul Church, Shiki (1963) * St. Paul's Chapel, Rikkyo Niiza Junior and Senior High School, Niiza Campus, Saitama (1963) * Nanzan University Campus (1964) * Chapel and Lecture Hall, Rikkyo Boys Primary School, Tokyo (1966)


Awards

* 1952
Architectural Institute of Japan The Architectural Institute of Japan, or AIJ, is a Japanese professional body for architects, building engineers, and researchers in architecture. The institute was founded in 1886 as an institute for architects. It was renamed the Architectural ...
Award for the Reader's Digest Building * 1956 Medal of Honor by the New York Chapter of
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...
* 1957 First Honor Award of the American Institute of Architects and the Yawata Steel Worker's Union Memorial Hall Award of Merit * 1964 Third Class,
Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...
by
Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
* 1965 Design Award from the Architectural Institute of Japan for his design of Nanzan University, Nagoya


Publications

* 1935 ''Antonin Raymond: His Work in Japan 1920–1935'' published by Jônan Shoin, Tokyo * 1938 ''Architectural Details'' published by the International Architectural Association, Tokyo * 1962 ''The Works of Antonin Raymond'' Architectural Association Journal * 1967 ''Watakushi to nihon kenchiku (Myself and Japanese Architecture)'' A collection of writings and lectures, published by Kajima Shuppansha, Tokyo * 1970 ''Jiden'' (autobiography) published in Japanese by Kajima Shuppansha, Tokyo * 1973 ''Antonin Raymond: An Autobiography'' published by Charles E. Tuttle Company of Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan


See also

*
Czech Republic–Japan relations Bilateralism, Bilateral relations between the Czech Republic and Japan were established in 1919 by Czechoslovakia and Japan. History The diplomatic relation between Czechoslovakia and Japan was established in 1919. Czech architect Antonin Raymon ...
*
Junzō Yoshimura was a Japanese architect. Early career Yoshimura dated his desire to become an architect to the day he first entered Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, shortly after the Kanto earthquake of 1923. "“It was th ...


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

*
Raymond Digital Archives
(in Japanese, Flash required)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Antonin 1888 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Czech people Czech architects 20th-century American architects American people of Czech descent American expatriates in Japan Czech expatriates in Japan People from Kladno Czech Technical University in Prague alumni Recipients of the Order of the White Lion People from New Hope, Pennsylvania Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class