Raymond Moriyama was born in 1929 in Vancouver. In youth, confined to his room after suffering burns to his face, Moriyama kept seeing an architect coming and going at a nearby project. It was then that he decided to become an architect.
As Japanese Canadians were considered a possible threat during the Second World War, Moriyama spend some time with his family in an internment camp, he describes his first architecture project:
“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 means. That tree house, when finished, was beautiful. It was my university, my place of solace, a place to think and learn.”
Moriyama obtained his bachelor’s degree at the University of Toronto and his master’s degree at the School of Architecture at McGill University
Ontario Science Centre
1964, Toronto, Ontario
Ottawa Civic Centre
1968, Ottawa, Ontario
John McCrea Senior Public School
1969, Scarborough, Ontario
A.Y. Jackson Secondary School
1970, North York, Ontario
Lamoureux Collegiate Institute
1978, Scarborough, Ontario
Sarborough Civic Centre
1973, Scarborough, Ontario
Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute
1976, Scarborough, Ontario
Toronto Reference Library
1977, Toronto, Ontario
Peterborough Public Library
1980, Peterborough, Ontario
Science North
1980, Sudbury, Ontario
Ottawa City Hall
1990, Ottawa, Ontario
Embassy of Canada
1991, Tokyo, Japan
Bata Shoe Museum
1995, Toronto, Ontario
Nova Scotia Community College
1999, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Seneca York Campus
1999, Toronto, Ontario
Canadian War Museum
2005, Ottawa, Ontario
Should you wish to know more about Raymond Moriyama watch this tvo docs video.
