Revel Fox was born in Durban and grew up in harbour towns and cities such as Port Elizabeth, Luderitz and later Cape Town. He went on to study architecture, considering it in part as a ‘soft option’. He completed 18 months of study at UCT before joining the army midway through his second year. He was shipped off to Italy as part of the Papa Britz special service battalion. It was here in Italy during the War that his interest in space, the urban environment and the human condition in built surroundings was sparked. After returning from the War he completed his studies with renewed focus.

With a career that included time in Mozambique and Sweden, he set up practice in Worcester and later moved to Cape Town. One of his important early commissions was the new Deanery in Upper Orange street (1960). He would go on to complete several residential projects, as well as larger buildings such as the UCT School of Ballet (1962, 1964, 1973), UCT faculty of Education (1969) and the BP Centre (1973).

His work reflected both his African heritage and the influences of European styles. He met the challenge of specific problems in the South African context such as the need for mass housing and dealing with urban planning in the post-apartheid era.