One of the standout works of the firm was the Toronto Reference Library, a stunning glass and brick structure that was completed in 1977. Their architectural projects extended beyond Canada, encompassing a transit mall in Buffalo to revitalize the city’s main street, the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. The embassy, a striking trapezoid made of glass and aluminum, hovers above an open garden and plaza situated on the fourth story of a commercial building.
Another notable creation is the Bata Shoe Museum, an enchanting limestone-clad structure in downtown Toronto, affectionately known as Mr. Moriyama’s interpretation of a “shoebox”. This whimsical museum was the passion project of Sonja Bata, whose husband, Thomas Bata, was the heir to the Bata Shoe Company. The museum housed Ms. Bata’s cherished collection of 13,000 pairs of shoes, which spanned 4,500 years of shoe artistry, featuring everything from Inuit boots made of sealskin to 18th-century heels and Renaissance-era chopines.
Survived by his wife and children, Mr. Moriyama leaves behind a remarkable legacy. His contributions to architecture earned him numerous accolades, including being appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1985 and receiving the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s prestigious Gold Medal in 1997, the highest honor in Canadian architecture. He retired in 2003.
Mr. Moriyama was renowned for his attentive approach to client needs. He often referred to himself as a “professional dumdum” – a tenacious communicator whose thought-provoking questions led to the creation of extraordinary structures, and in some cases, even the realization that no structure was necessary at all.
In an anecdote recounted to The National Post in 1975, Mr. Moriyama revealed a memorable encounter with a prominent lawyer and his wife who sought his architectural services. After listening to them describe their opulent lifestyles, he realized that what they truly needed was not an architect but rather family counseling, as no building could mend their fractured relationship.
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