Viljo Revell

Viljo Gabriel Revell was born in Vaasa on January 25, 1910. Graduating from the Helsinki University of Technology, Revell served as an assistant to Alvar Aalto before co-designing the modernist functionalist landmark Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace) in central Helsinki in 1936.

In 1958, Revell triumphed over 510 entries from 42 countries to win the international competition for Toronto City Hall in Canada. His futuristic design featuring two curving towers flanking a saucer-shaped council chamber became a global icon of civic modernism, though he tragically died of a heart attack months before its completion.