Summer House by Noémi & Antonin Raymond (1933) in Karuizawa, Japan
The Raymonds designed the house for their own use as a summer retreat. It has changed ownerships many times over the years and was moved to the current site in 1986. It's now a museum dedicated to French illustrator Raymond Peynet.
The Raymonds spent over 40 years living and working in Japan. Antonin was Czech and Noémi was born in France. Antonin moved to America in 1910 and worked as a draftsman. He moved back to Europe for a short time but returned stateside where he met Noémi. Then in 1916, the couple began working for Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. After a stint in the Army, Wright asked Antonin to go to Tokyo with him to work on the Imperial Hotel.
In 1921 Antonin left Frank Lloyd Wright to open his own office in Tokyo. By the sound of this letter, Wright wasn't very happy about it.
Source: Crafting a Modern World: The Designs of Antonin and Noemi Raymond by Kurt Helfrich, William Whitaker
Staff portrait of the Raymond Architecture Design Office in Tokyo, 1935. Noémi and Antonin Raymond at center, Junzo Yoshimura stands to their right in vest and white shirt, George Nakashima stands above in center of back row. George Nakashima joined the Antonin and Noémi Raymond office in 1934, shortly after graduating from Harvard and MIT.
While working at the Raymond office, Nakashima helped with the construction of Golconde, in India. It's considered the first "modern" architecture project, as well as the first reinforced, cast-in-place concrete building in India. It was built between 1937-45.
In 1938, with the bubbling up of global tensions that would lead to WWII, the Raymonds moved back to the US and settled in New Hope, Pennsylvania. In 1943, the Raymonds helped Nakashima and his family move there as well. The Raymonds created “the New Hope Experiment", which was a farm and studio where they taught design and architecture. It's still in existence and is now known as the Raymond Farm Center for Living Arts & Design.
The Nakashimas would live at the Raymond farm for three years. It is there where Nakashima began to shift from architecture to furniture design. It was at this time he developed the Milk House Table, which was the name of the shed he worked in on the farm. Nakashima them built his workshop and home within walking distance of the Raymond Farm. Via Raymond Farm Center
Photo: The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania, Masonori Sugiyama
Between 1921 and 1938, the Raymond Architecture Design Office designed close to 70 houses in Japan. They are credited with helping to bring the modern architecture movement to Japan. In total, they designed over 500 buildings worldwide.
The Raymonds' style, although based in Modernism, had a Japanese vernacular sensibility to it. The summer house was influenced by Le Corbusier's plan for the Errazuris house, but it also adheres to the principles of sukiya architecture.
The interior of the house is now set up for displaying Raymond Peynet works. They didn't allow interior photos.
But...a number of furniture pieces are on display, like these Noémi Raymond-designed chairs
Plus, this Noémi-designed lamp. It's one of the best things I've seen in a long time.
Along with interior design and furniture design, she did painting, sculpture, graphics, illustration, and textile design.
Photo: Courtesy of David L. Leavitt Collection, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania via Designed by Women
A collector in Japan showed me a rug catalog that included a number of her designs. This is one of the pages. I'm not sure if the catalog was from a retailer or manufacturer.
Her textiles were distributed by Knoll.
Source: Designed by Women
In 2020 there was an exhibition called Shofuso and Modernism, The Architecture and Design of George Nakashima, Antonin and Noémi Raymond, and Junzo Yoshimura. It included furnishing by the Raymonds and Nakashima, including these fire dogs by Noémi.
Photo: Interior Design
It was held at the Japanese House that was originally designed by Junzo Yoshimura for MoMA's “The House in the Museum Garden” exhibition in 1954. Junzo lived on the Raymond farm for Now it belongs to the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. It's a shame this exhibition happened in September 2020. I'm sure not many people saw it. Luckily, they did a great documentary to accompany the exhibition.
Photo: Arch Daily
More Raymond projects are coming up.