Viljo Gabriel Revell (25 January 1910 – 8 November 1964) was a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

of the functionalist school. In Finland he is best known for the design of the

Lasipalatsi Lasipalatsi ( sv, Glaspalatset; meaning literally "glass palace") is a functionalist office building designed in the 1930s, located on Mannerheimintie in the Kamppi district of Helsinki, Finland. Lasipalatsi is one of Helsinki's most notable func ...

("Glass Palace") and Palace Hotel, both in Helsinki. Internationally, Revell is best known for designing the New City Hall of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada.

Life and career

Revell, originally spelt ''Rewell'', was born in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

in 1910, and graduated from Vaasan Lyseo in 1928. He graduated as an architect from the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

in 1937. He made his architectural breakthrough already the year he graduated when he, together with fellow students Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko, won the architectural competition for the design of the

, which had originally been intended as a temporary building comprising shops, restaurant and cinema, but which became one of the landmarks of Finnish "white functionalist" architecture. His next major work was the so-called Teollisuuskeskus (Industrial Centre), comprising offices, hotel (Palace Hotel), roof-terrace restaurant and ground-floor shops, situated on Helsinki's south harbour seafront. The building was also based on a competition winning proposal, made together with architect Keijo Petäjä, and was completed in 1952 in time for the Helsinki Olympic Games. Revell's international breakthrough came with winning the 1956–58 architectural competition for the design of the

Toronto City Hall The Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, is the seat of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. Designed by Viljo Revell and engineered by Hannskarl Bandel, the building opened in ...

, which he designed together with fellow Finnish architects Heikki Castrén, Bengt Lundsten, and Seppo Valjus. The building was completed in 1965, the year following Revell's premature death. Revell married Maire Myntti in 1941; they had three daughters born in 1942, 1943 and 1945. As he had excellent stereoscopic eyesight, he served as

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...

fire control officer in World War II, and he was one of the survivors of the sinking of the

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, the

coastal defence ship Coastal defence ships (sometimes called coastal battleships or coast defence ships) were warships built for the purpose of coastal defence, mostly during the period from 1860 to 1920. They were small, often cruiser-sized warships that sacrifi ...

Ilmarinen Ilmarinen (), the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the ''Kalevala'', is a god and archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love. He i ...

in 1941. In 1943, at a time when post-war reconstruction was already an important topic of discussion, Revell, along with

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

Aarne Ervi Aarne Adrian Ervi (originally Aarne Adrian Elers) (19 May 1910 – 26 September 1977) was one of the most important architects of Finland's post-World War II reconstruction period. Ervi was born in Forssa, and graduated as an architect from the ...

and Kaj Englund, was one of the instigators of the Finnish Building Information File (in Finnish: ''rakennustietokortisto''), the Finnish version of a building standards file, to assist in standardization of building practices and component sizes. The work was financed by the

Finnish Association of Architects SAFA ( fi, Suomen Arkkitehtiliitto, sv, Finlands Arkitektförbund, en, Finnish Association of Architects) is the professional body representing architects in Finland. Overview The Association SAFA is a non-profit, professional organization op ...

, under the name of the Standardization Institute. As part of the research the group had contacts with a similar organisation in Germany, run by architect

Ernst Neufert Ernst Neufert (15 March 1900 – 23 February 1986) was a German architect who is known as an assistant of Walter Gropius, as a teacher and member of various standardization organizations, and especially for his widely disseminated reference book '' ...

. In June 1943, while the war was still going on, Aalto, Ervi and Revell, together with architects Jussi Paatela and Esko Suhonen, travelled to Germany at the invitation of Neufert to witness the German building standardization efforts, including the construction of government buildings designed by

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...

for the Nazi government.

Significant buildings

* 1935

("Crystal Palace")

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

with Niilo Kokko, Olavi Laisaari and Heimo Riihimäki * 1939 Hallintalo House office building,

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

* 1948 Palace Hotel

with Heikki Castrén * 1953 Tower block in

Tapiola Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

* 1953/1954–1956, 1960 Kudeneule knitwear factory (current Printal),

Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...

* 1957 Villa Didrichsen

Didrichsen Art Museum Didrichsen Art Museum ( fi, Didrichsenin taidemuseo, sv, Didrichsens konstmuseum) is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland. History The art museum was founded by Marie-Louise and Gunnar Didrichsen, who asked Finnish architect Viljo Revell to build ...

. New wing 1964.

Kuusisaari Kuusisaari (Finnish), Granö (Swedish) is an island and a neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders ...

* 1960 ''

City-Center The City-Center was a plan to raze and rebuild the block between the central Helsinki streets of Kaivokatu, Keskuskatu and Aleksanterinkatu, creating a unified, modern appearance for the area. The plan was originally drafted between 1958 an ...

'' office building (''“Makkaratalo”'' or “Sausage Building”),

with Heikki Castrén * 1961 Finnish Ministry of Defence (with Heikki Castrén), Helsinki. * 1962 Office block in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

now called the "Rewell Center" * 1962

Watertower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

- disk shaped tank similar to Toronto City Hall's council chamber structure * 1966 New City Hall of

, Canada. Image:Lasipalatsi.jpg, Lasipalatsi, Helsinki, with Kokko, Laisaari and Riihimäki (1935). File:Helsinki 2009 PD 0342.JPG, Palace Hotel, Helsinki, with Petäjä (1952). File:Taskumattitaloja Tapiolassa.jpg, Taskumatti houses,

(1953). File:KOP-kolmio, 2005.jpg, KOP Bank building, Turku (1960). File:Revell Finnish Defence Ministry.jpg, Finnish Ministry of Defence, Helsinki, with Castrén (1961). File:Vaasa Rewell Center.jpg, Revell Center, Vaasa (1963). File:Makkaratalo Helsinki2.jpg,

, Helsinki, with Castrén (1958–67).

References

External links

Viljo Revell 1910–1964
(in

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Revell, Viljo 1910 births 1964 deaths People from Vaasa People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Modernist architects Modernist architecture in Finland 20th-century Finnish architects