The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature
The renowned architect Antonin Raymond undertook a large amount of work in Japan for more than fifty years. He arrived to the archipelago as a partner to Frank Lloyd Wright, who had received the commission for the paramount Imperial Hotel. Nevertheless, Raymond became almost revolutionary in that co...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/10/1514 |
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| author | Jose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo Inmaculada Rodríguez-Cunill Joseph Cabeza-Lainez |
| author_facet | Jose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo Inmaculada Rodríguez-Cunill Joseph Cabeza-Lainez |
| author_sort | Jose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The renowned architect Antonin Raymond undertook a large amount of work in Japan for more than fifty years. He arrived to the archipelago as a partner to Frank Lloyd Wright, who had received the commission for the paramount Imperial Hotel. Nevertheless, Raymond became almost revolutionary in that country for his realizations of projects and buildings. Simultaneously, he pioneered the concept of solar houses, a notion that proved to be fundamental for bioclimatic design. Raymond realized that because of the influence of geomancy and Daoism, the buildings of Japan had a sort of cosmic link, especially to the sun and the seasons, and in this way, he took great concern with solar exposure, shading, and daylighting, both in the way in which they were composed and also in the materials that were employed, such as lumber, reed roofs, and paper screens. We have tried to identify these trends in his most significant buildings and establish a sequence of how they evolved towards a contemporary and truly sustainable design. The main result presented is that for the reasons presented, Raymond influenced a number of celebrated architects in Japan, India, and the USA. In fact, instead of pursuing the pure abstract minimalism common in his epoch, he made use of the ideas of naturalism in architecture, which in the case of Asia were related to ritual cosmology. In this article, we have outlined how such a procedure was possible and what it entailed for complex domains such as sun-lighting and daylighting, ventilation, acoustics, and re-interpretation of vernacular architecture. The connection with the main forces of the environment, which effectively interact through architecture, when considered from a philosophical and even spiritual point of view as he did, resulted in a kind of artistic revitalization of traditions belonging to Daoism and Shintoism and inaugurated a new manner of sustainable thinking for the building profession that endures today. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:34:17Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:34:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac559583f7a843aeab86fba00e9a7f772023-11-23T23:15:33ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092022-09-011210151410.3390/buildings12101514The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and NatureJose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo0Inmaculada Rodríguez-Cunill1Joseph Cabeza-Lainez2Department of Architectural Composition, University of Seville, Av. Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla, SpainDepartment of Painting, University of Seville, C. Laraña, 2, 41002 Sevilla, SpainDepartment of Architectural Composition, University of Seville, Av. Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla, SpainThe renowned architect Antonin Raymond undertook a large amount of work in Japan for more than fifty years. He arrived to the archipelago as a partner to Frank Lloyd Wright, who had received the commission for the paramount Imperial Hotel. Nevertheless, Raymond became almost revolutionary in that country for his realizations of projects and buildings. Simultaneously, he pioneered the concept of solar houses, a notion that proved to be fundamental for bioclimatic design. Raymond realized that because of the influence of geomancy and Daoism, the buildings of Japan had a sort of cosmic link, especially to the sun and the seasons, and in this way, he took great concern with solar exposure, shading, and daylighting, both in the way in which they were composed and also in the materials that were employed, such as lumber, reed roofs, and paper screens. We have tried to identify these trends in his most significant buildings and establish a sequence of how they evolved towards a contemporary and truly sustainable design. The main result presented is that for the reasons presented, Raymond influenced a number of celebrated architects in Japan, India, and the USA. In fact, instead of pursuing the pure abstract minimalism common in his epoch, he made use of the ideas of naturalism in architecture, which in the case of Asia were related to ritual cosmology. In this article, we have outlined how such a procedure was possible and what it entailed for complex domains such as sun-lighting and daylighting, ventilation, acoustics, and re-interpretation of vernacular architecture. The connection with the main forces of the environment, which effectively interact through architecture, when considered from a philosophical and even spiritual point of view as he did, resulted in a kind of artistic revitalization of traditions belonging to Daoism and Shintoism and inaugurated a new manner of sustainable thinking for the building profession that endures today.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/10/1514Antonin RaymondJapanese vernacularenvironmental designsolar design and architecturephilosophical Daoismmodern design for warm latitudes |
| spellingShingle | Jose-Manuel Almodóvar-Melendo Inmaculada Rodríguez-Cunill Joseph Cabeza-Lainez The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature Buildings Antonin Raymond Japanese vernacular environmental design solar design and architecture philosophical Daoism modern design for warm latitudes |
| title | The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature |
| title_full | The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature |
| title_fullStr | The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature |
| title_short | The Search for Solar Architecture in Asia in the Works of the Architect Antonin Raymond: A Protracted Balance between Culture and Nature |
| title_sort | search for solar architecture in asia in the works of the architect antonin raymond a protracted balance between culture and nature |
| topic | Antonin Raymond Japanese vernacular environmental design solar design and architecture philosophical Daoism modern design for warm latitudes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/10/1514 |
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