Raymond Moriyama

In June 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary.

In 2012, he received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. He also created a $200,000 endowment with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada called the Moriyama RAIC International Prize.

In 2010, he won the Sakura Award, for his impact and dedication in the promotion of Japanese culture worldwide.

In 2009, he was one of nine laureates to receive a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.

In 2007, he was honoured with a postage stamp by Canada Post featuring his design for the Ontario Science Centre.

His sons, Ajon and Jason, became principals at Moriyama + Teshima Architects after Raymond Moriyama retired in 2003. In 2013, Ajon Moriyama founded Ajon Moriyama Architect, doing independent work in Toronto.

In 2003, he was made a member of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class, a Japanese award given in recognition for his services to Japanese culture in Canada.

From 2001 to 2007, he served as the Chancellor of Brock University in St Catharines, Ontario. He has designed several buildings at Brock University from the 1970s onwards.

In 1999, he was the key architect for designing of the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh.

In 1997, he received the RAIC Gold Medal, Canadian Architecture's highest honour.

This project won the City of Toronto Urban Design Award of Excellence in 1997.

Moriyama + Teshima designed the Bata Shoe Museum, built in 1995. It is recognizable by its angled trapezoidal limestone walls, and pyramid-like glazing on the front face. The interior reflects the angularity of the outside, with large open spaces for exhibitions with tilted walls. The interior is mostly wood, with "floating" display boxes with hidden supports, similar to the grand wooden staircase in the centre of the room.

Moriyama designed this building during his time with Moriyama + Teshima. It was built in 1991. The prominent concept of this building is the "tree house", gaining inspiration from his childhood years spent in Japanese internment camps. He replicated the feeling of youthfulness and magic of the treehouse he first built while in camp. His intention was to enable a place of social connection and welcoming for all those visiting the Embassy. The form resembles that of a temple. On the lower half, a large solid mass of concrete includes deep set windows, and above it, an asymmetrical glass peaked roof creates a light, sculptural contrast. Adjacent to the building is the Akasaka Imperial Grounds and the Takahashi Memorial Park. The building was limited in the shadows it was allowed to cast over the park, a restriction that led to its final shape.

In 1985, Raymond Moriyama was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion in 2008. He was also inducted into the Order of Ontario in 1992.

In 1970, Moriyama co-founded a private practice in Toronto with Ted Teshima called Moriyama & Teshima Architects which is renowned for designing many major buildings across the world, including the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. His focus is on humane architecture with the pursuit of true ideals, democracy, and unanimity of all people.

This was Moriyama's first large-scale project as an independent architect. It was built in 1969. Moriyama incorporated Confuciuan philosophies into his design, building on the ideas of tactile and experiential learning. The Science Centre functions as a place for visitors to experiment hands-on with installations.

Moriyama's first large project as an independent architect was the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, built in 1964.

After years of working independently as an architect, Moriyama established his Toronto-based firm in 1958 and in 1970 was joined by Ted Teshima and is now Moriyama & Teshima Architects. Some of their notable early projects include the Scarborough Civic Centre from 1973, and the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library from 1977. Both of these projects won Governor General's Medals. Moriyama has been heavily involved in bringing a Japanese cultural influence to Western society. He is a part of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, as well as the Order of Ontario. Many of Moriyama's architectural awards recognize his excellency in materiality, landscape, and urban design. Some of his core values as an architect involve the principles of designing for human scale and human functionality. Ted Teshima retired in 2006, and died in 2016.

During his years in University, he ran into his childhood friend Sachi from Vancouver. When they began to date, he knew immediately that she was the one he was going to marry. He told her this many times, but she just laughed. She never believed him. They married in 1954. Together, they had five children, including two sons who also become architects, Ajon and Jason Moriyama.

Moriyama received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto in 1954, and a Master of Architecture degree in civic and town planning from the School of Architecture at McGill University in 1957.

Raymond Moriyama CC OOnt LL. D. FRAIC (born October 11, 1929) is a Canadian architect.