Raymond Moriyama: The Latest Architecture and News

As we step into the new year, we take a moment to reflect on the lasting impact of celebrated architects, designers, and curators who passed away in 2023. This past year witnessed the departure of influential figures who, through their talent and dedication, left an indelible mark on the built environment. Some embarked on their careers with bold gestures that reshaped architectural paradigms, while others worked quietly, placing a profound focus on the human experience or the invisible figures of out profession.

This reflective pause allows us to acknowledge the enduring legacy of personalities such as India's first Pritzker Prize Laureate, Balkrishna Doshi, the tireless women’s rights advocate Beverly Willis, the first curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale, Paolo Portoghesi, writer, critic and curator Jean-Louis Cohen, and many more.

+ 49

Visionary architect Raymond Moriyama, co-founder of Moriyama Teshima Architects and the designer behind some of Canada’s most influential buildings, has passed away at the age of 93. Renowned for designing major buildings across the world, including the Canadian War Museum, Ontario Science Center and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Moriyama focused on creating humane buildings reflecting ideals of democracy, equality, and inclusivity. Moriyama passed away on September 1st, 2023, according to a statement from his firm, Moriyama & Teshima Architects.

+ 3

Videos

The old adage "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" (it's stupid etc.), loses some of its impact when architecture becomes the backdrop for both music, and dancing. Ever since video killed the radio star, famous houses, quirky spaces, and history's great buildings have provided beautiful, unique and dramatic settings for music videos of all types. So which of 2017s music videos have capitalized on the wonderful world of architecture? 

Thespaces.com have compiled a list of the best music videos for architecture lovers for 2017. Here are a few of our favorites and a few additional videos we think deserve a mention.

The Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (RAIC) have announced that Li Xiaodong has been awarded the inaugural Moriyama International Prize, named after esteemed Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama. The prize, which comes with a monetary value of CAD$100,000, has been established to recognise buildings that are judged to be "transformative, inspired as well as inspiring, and emblematic of the human values of respect and inclusiveness."

The jury deliberated projects submitted from nine countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Tajikistan. According to the citation, the jury was "impressed by the breadth of international interest in the prize and encouraged by the high level of engagement with the aims and objectives of the program revealed in the submissions." The prize is open to all architects irrespective of nationality and location and seeks to recognise a single work of architecture (as opposed to a life’s work), celebrating buildings in use.

+ 7

Architect Raymond Moriyama, founder of Toronto-based Moriyama and Teshima Architects, has collaborated with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) to launch an international CAD $100,000 prize open to architects with “outstanding” work or non-architects who have had an “exceptional contribution to architecture.”

With an aim to raise the stature of the RAIC and “inspire all Canadians and Canadian architects to aspire higher,” as Moriyama stated, the biennial Moriyama RAIC International Prize has the potential to rival the Pritzker as one of the world’s largest, and expectantly most “prestigious” cash prizes in architecture.

However, based on the ideals of “Moriyama’s passion for humanistic architecture that transforms society through an emphasis on values such as social justice, equality and inclusivity,” the Prize is expected to set itself apart from Pritzker's focus on lifetime achievement.