The question of own style … expressed in opposing opinions, that everything important needs to be appropriated from more developed nations, or contrary, that only what is domestic is good and right. … Wherever we live, we must give our utmost effort to get to know nature and life and through that, give our share to all humankind. … The conflict between both tendencies will be settled in realization, that they do not exclude each other, they complement each other. 

Previous studies of the architectural work of one of the most important Slovenian modernist architects give a lot of value to his education, or better said, to the transmission of ideas between master and apprentice. In this regard, Ravnikar's architecture, although quite different in style, presents a synthesis of architectures of Jože Plečnik and Le Corbusier, based on a common intellectual background. This study unobtrusively focuses on the architect's self-initiative and curiosity, and is inspired by and based on the legacy of his personal archive. Discovery of Ravnikar's manuscript with comments on The Book of Tea, by Japanese writer Okakura Kakuzō, reveals the architect's dilemma between his role as an inheritor of the Mediterranean culture, and the opportunity to follow the source of inspiration that he recognized in Far Eastern cultures. New facts broaden the perspective of what is already known about his work and offer a sensible, in-depth addition to existing studies.