Antonin Raymond - The War Years (1941-1945)

The War Years (1941-1945)

With the approach of the Second World War, Raymond moved back to New York, ending the New Hope experiment. He formed a partnership with civil engineer Arthur Tuttle, structural engineer Elwyn Seelye and mechanical engineer Clyde Place. With the country's emphasis on the war effort, the company focused on US army contracts. Their work included: prefabricated houses at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey (1942) and Camp Shanks, New York (1942–1943) and housing and an airport in Fort Dix, New Jersey (1943). Controversially, in 1943, Raymond was asked to design a series of middle class Japanese style homes on which the Army could test the effectiveness ordnance (specifically incendiaries). These houses were eventually erected on the Dugway Proving Ground, nicknamed "Japanese village". Raymond admitted in his autobiography that he was not proud of the work.