Rafael Vinoly, born in 1944 in Montevideo, is an Uruguayan-born architect living in the United States. He was educated at the University of Buenos Aires, receiving a Diploma in Architecture in 1968 and a Master of Architecture from the School of Architecture and Urbanism in 1969.

He founded the firm Rafael Vinoly Architects PC in 1983. His first major project in New York was the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which was completed in 1988.

In 1989, he won an international competition to design the Tokyo International Forum. Completed in 1996, many people consider this building to be one of the most important cultural complex in Japan. His firm's design was one of the finalists in the World Trade Center design competition.