Villa Didrichsen was designed by architect Viljo Revell (1910–1964). The first part of the house was completed in 1957 as the home for the Didrichsen family. Later Revell designed an extension for the growing art collection. The museum wing was completed in 1964.
Viljo Revell was influenced by Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier, among others. He was known for respecting human aspects in his planning, and his style included elements of modernism, rationalism and concrete brutalism. The concrete brutalism is especially evident in the horizontal construction of the extension.