John Van Wie Bergamini (August 12, 1887 – January 15, 1975) was an American missionary architect who worked for the American Episcopal Mission in China, Japan, the Philippines and Africa.

Early life and education

Born in

Athens, New York Athens is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 3,916 at the 2020 census. The town of Athens has a village also called Athens. The town is near the eastern edge of the county. History The town of Athens was form ...

on August 12, 1887, Bergamini studied first at the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

, between 1908 and 1911 at the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

School of Architecture, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Architectural career

In 1911 he was commissioned by the Congregational Church to design and build a two-story brick mission hospital in

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, China. He stayed in China until 1920 when he was appointed official architect of the Episcopal Church in the Far East. During his architectural career he was credited with the design of over 200 churches, hospitals, schools and residential structures in China, Japan, the Philippines, Liberia, Mexico and the United States. His 1929 membership for the New York Chapter of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

was sponsored by

Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or ), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic ...

Robert D. Kohn Robert D. Kohn (May 12, 1870 – June 16, 1953) was an American architect most active in New York City. Life and career Kohn was born in Manhattan, attended Columbia University, and spent four years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, fro ...

and Samuel Bishop. Bergamini obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1934 Bergamini was active in

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers w ...

, China, where in advance of Japanese air raids in 1937 he supervised construction of air raid shelters at St. Hilda's School for Girls. He was interned with his family in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Luzon as a prisoner of war during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. He died in

Rowayton, Connecticut Rowayton is a coastal neighborhood in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut, roughly from New York City. The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Associati ...

on January 15, 1975.

Family

Bergamini married Clara Dorothy Hawke in 1919. He was the father of five children, including American historian and author David Bergamini.

Notable buildings

Principal works include: * St. Margaret's School, Tokyo (1932), chapel and school facilities. *

St. Luke's International Hospital is a general and teaching hospital located in the Akashicho district (adjacent to Tsukiji) in Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. First opened in 1902, as a medical mission facility by the Episcopal Church in the United States, the hospital is now one of cent ...

, Tokyo (1933) main building. Chapel interior succeeding the work of

* The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St. Mary and St. John in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergamini, John Van Wie 20th-century American architects Architects from New York (state) 1887 births 1975 deaths American missionaries in China