Uno Prii Architect who designed apartment buildings for the space age

On my walk through York Cemetery in Toronto, I discovered the grave of Uno Prii — the Estonian-Canadian architect who helped launch Toronto into the space age with his futuristic apartment buildings, often called “Jetson buildings.”

Prii’s imaginative designs stood in sharp contrast to the boxy, utilitarian buildings of the 1960s. His apartments featured sweeping curves, looped balconies, and white concrete structures that pointed skyward like rocket ships — as if Toronto had taken a cue from The Jetsons or Star Trek.

Born in Estonia, Uno graduated from the University of Toronto School of Architecture in 1955. Eager to design without constraint, he quickly opened his own firm and began reshaping the city. The results were striking. His buildings — such as The Vincennes, Prince Arthur Towers, and 44 Walmer Road — became iconic fixtures of Toronto’s architectural landscape.

The striking “The Vincennes”, Prince Arthur Towers in The Annex. 

Next time you’re walking near Bloor and Spadina, look up — those otherworldly buildings with space-age curves are Prii’s legacy in concrete and steel.

Uno Prii died in Toronto on November 27, 2000, at the age of 76, but his bold vision of the future still towers over the city he helped transform.