Revel Albert Ellis Fox (20 September 1924 – 13 December 2004) was a South African avant-garde architect. Founder of Revel Fox and Partners.

Life

Revel Fox was born in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1924, in the family of Albert John Charles Fox, a customs officer, and Ivy Priscilla Ellis. By the time he had graduated from Durban Boys' High School

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

had broken out and he wanted to join the army. After 18 months of studying architecture, he enlisted and was sent to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

as part of the Special Service Battalion. After the War, Revel Fox returned to the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

earning a degree in B Arch in 1948 (Honoris Causa) conferred on him by two universities, the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

(1993) and the University of Cape Town (2001). After graduating from the university he worked in the then

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

(

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

) and in Anders Tengbom's office in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 1952 he returned to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and set up practice in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, opened practice in the Cape in 1953. In Worcester, he was involved in number of restoration projects.Revel Fox at artefacts.co.za
/ref> From 1960 to 1963 he was listed as an assistant lecturer in the staff registers of the University of Cape Town. He obtained the degree of master of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Town in 1969. From 1973 to 1975 Fox was the president of the Cape Provincial Institute of Architects, 1998 and 1999 he served as Chair of the Council of the University of Cape Town. Revel Fox had been a member of Advisory Board of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of Cape Town. Fox was known for opposing the apartheid regime and he was invited to join the delegation which went to Dakar in 1987 to meet with representatives of the then exiled

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

Awards

* Gold Medal Award from the Institute of South African Architects, 1977. * South African National Monuments Council's Gold Medal, 1994. * Sophia Gray Laureate, 1997. * ''The Order of the Baobab in Silver'' 26 April 2005 for ''Lifelong contribution to the advancement of architecture in South Africa''.Revel Albert Ellis Fox (1924 - 2004)
/ref>

Books

* Fox, Revel, Fox, Justin & Kotze, Paul. 1998. Revel Fox: reflections on the making of space. Cape Town: Rustica Press.

Bibliography

* Beck, Haig (Editor). 1985. UIA International Architect : Southern Africa (Issue 8). London: International Architect. pp Inner back cover, 10 * Emanuel, Muriel. 1980. Contemporary architects. London: Macmillan. pp 256–259 * Fox, Revel, Fox, Justin. 1998. Revel Fox : reflections on the making of space. Cape Town: Rustica Press. pp All * Greig, Doreen. 1971. A Guide to Architecture in South Africa. Cape Town: Howard Timmins. pp 228 * ISAA. 1959. The Yearbook of the Institute of South African Architects and Chapter of SA Quantity Surveyors 1958-1959 : Die Jaarboek van die Instituut van Suid-Afrikaanse Argitekte en Tak van Suid-Afrikaanse Bourekenaars 1958-1959. Johannesburg: ISAA. pp 90, 207 * ISAA. 1969. The Yearbook of the Institute of South African Architects and Chapter of SA Quantity Surveyors 1968-1969 : Die Jaarboek van die Instituut van Suid-Afrikaanse Argitekte en Tak van Suid-Afrikaanse Bourekenaars 1968-1969. Johannesburg: ISAA. pp 92, 158 * Martin, Desmond. 2007. Walking Long Street. Cape Town: Struik. pp 16, 20 * Morgan, Ann Lee & Naylor, Colin. 1987

980 Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...

Contemporary Architects. Chicago and London: St. James Press. pp 291–294

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Revel 1924 births 2004 deaths University of Cape Town alumni 20th-century South African architects 21st-century South African architects Recipients of the Order of the Baobab