Antonin Raymond

Antonin Raymond (or Czech: Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976) was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), working later in the United States and Japan. Raymond was also the Consul of Czechoslovakia 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. Raymond's initial work with American architects Cass Gilbert and Frank Lloyd Wright gave him an insight into the use of concrete for texture and structure that he would refine throughout his six-decade career. At studio practices in New Hope, Pennsylvania and Tokyo, 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, and the Philippines. Along with British architect Josiah Conder, Raymond is recognized as one of the fathers of modern architecture in Japan.