The "Architect" in Antonin Raymond's Way of Thinking

A Definition Based on Antonin Raymond's Own Words

Abstract

This paper presents the result of a study based on a selection of writings produced by Antonin Raymond in Japan and America between 1935 and 1964, which are considered by the author as the best expression of the architect's way of thinking. This study is part of a larger research on the residential architecture designed by Antonin Raymond in pre Second World War Japan. The research explores more particularly the idea of ′synthesis′ in Raymond's architecture, a synthesis between western principles of modern architecture and Japanese principles of design and conception of space. The present paper aims to present the result of a study on the definition of ″the Architect″ based on Antonin Raymond's way of thinking, and to show that the architect himself is a man of synthesis. It also provides the opportunity to present a series of writings which have not yet been thoroughly analyzed, nor published in English. Through the selection of a number of keywords contained in the texts, we were able to distinguish three themes, which embody the core characteristics of the ″Architect″ in Antonin Raymond's way of thinking. They are embodied in the three words artist, engineer, and guide.