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Book: Antonin and Noemi Raymond

Antonin and Noémi Raymond

I had never heard of Princeton Architectural Press before, but probably because I was never a design or architecture student. Many of you out there may recognize the name. It was brought to my attention that they have a new book out focusing on mid-century modern design and I was excited to get myself a copy to peruse. I also have a few other new books from them that I will be reviewing over the next month or so.

The book, Crafting a Modern World: The Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noemi Raymond [edited by Kurt G. Fl. Helfrich and William Whitaker] is a monster hardcover of 352 pages with over 300 photos. I really love books with pictures, and you really can’t discuss architecture and design without illustrations. As I said before, I’m no expert, so I immediately said Antonin and Noemi Raymond who? If you would have said that too, then this book might be worth a read. Did you know that they were married and worked with such household names as Frank Lloyd Wright and Isamu Noguchi? Me neither.

Japanese architecture has always been a fascination of mine, along with all other things Japanese, and when I learned that the Raymonds lived and worked primarily in Japan, I was thrilled to see how they would fuse the two cultures. Together they designed houses; churches; commercial, government, and school buildings; and recreational centers. The mixture of culture and modernism is evident in their structures, and there is the use of organic materials, exposed wood, concrete, and a Zen-like simplicity.

Antonin and Noemi Raymond

Antonin and Noemi Raymond

Other cool books from PA Press:
Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art
D.I.Y.: Design It Yourself (Design Handbooks)
Hotel as Home: The Art of Living on the Road
The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture

Jaime Derringer, Founder + Executive Editor of Design Milk, is a Jersey girl living in SoCal. She dreams about funky, artistic jewelry + having enough free time to enjoy some of her favorite things—running, reading, making music, and drawing.