Raymond Moriyama

Raymond Junichi Moriyama (October 11, 1929 – September 1, 2023) was a Canadian architect.

The private practice in Toronto he co-founded with Ted Teshima, Moriyama & Teshima Architects, was renowned for designing many major buildings across the world, including the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.

Early life and education Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Raymond Moriyama suffered burns across his back and all over his arm as a four-year-old and was sometimes teased about his scars. During the eight months he spent bedridden after the accident, he saw an architect coming and going from a nearby construction site "with a blueprint under his arm and a pipe in his mouth." Moriyama decided then and there that he would become an architect.

Moriyama described his experiences in internment camps as miserable. During this time, his mother experienced a miscarriage, which Moriyama grieved as the loss of a potential younger brother. He looked for a place for escape and solitude, and decided to build a treehouse outside of camp as a lookout point. He made friends with Canadian farmers who supplied him with lumber and tools to build. Moriyama describes his experience of finding escape as such: In despair, I decided to bathe in the Slocan River on the other side of a little mountain away from the camp. The water was glacial, but it was better than hot tears. To see who might be coming, I built an observation platform. Soon I found myself wanting to build my first architectural project, a tree house, without being found out by the RCMP. I used just an axe as a hammer, an old borrowed saw, six spikes, some nails, a rope, and mostly branches and scraps from the lumberyard. It was hard work building it by myself, and it was a lesson in economy of material and meansThat tree house, when finished, was beautiful. It was my university, my place of solace, a place to think and learn. After the war, his family reunited with his father and they resettled in Hamilton, Ontario, where he attended Westdale Secondary School and worked in a pottery factory. Ambidextrous, Moriyama was able to finish his piecework quickly, and his bosses allowed him to use his extra time to study for school.

During his years in university, Moriyama ran into his childhood friend Sachi from Vancouver, and the two began dating. They married in 1954, and together had five children, including two sons who also become architects, Ajon and Jason Moriyama.

Career Moriyama's first large project as an independent architect was the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, with design starting in 1964, the building being finished in 1969. and is now Moriyama & Teshima Architects. Ted Teshima retired in 2006, and died in 2016.

In 2012 he created a $200,000 endowment with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada called the Moriyama RAIC International Prize.

Moriyama retired in 2003.

Honours

In 1985, Moriyama was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) He was also inducted into the Order of Ontario in 1992.

In 1997, he received the RAIC Gold Medal, Canadian Architecture's highest honour.

In 2007, he was honoured with a postage stamp by Canada Post featuring his design for the Ontario Science Centre.

In 2009, Moriyama was one of nine laureates to receive a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.

In 2010, he won the Sakura Award, for his impact and dedication in the promotion of Japanese culture worldwide.

In June 2013, Moriyama received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary.

Notable projects

Ontario Science Centre, Toronto

The Ontario Science Centre was Moriyama's first large-scale project as an independent architect.

Canadian embassy, Tokyo Moriyama designed the Canadian embassy in Tokyo during his time with Moriyama & Teshima. Built in 1991, the prominent concept of this building is the "tree house", inspired by Moriyama childhood years spent in Japanese internment camps. His intention was to enable a place of social connection and welcoming for all those visiting the Embassy:

Other projects Limberlost Place, George Brown College (2022) Canadian Port of Entry at the Gordie Howe International Border Crossing, Gordie Howe International Bridge (under construction as of 2022) Toronto French School additions (2015) Canadian War Museum (2005) Civic Garden Centre (now Toronto Botanical Garden), Toronto (1965) Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (1963)

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