Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto portrayed on a stamp published in1976.

Born Hugo Alvar Henrik AaltoFebruary 3, 1898Kuortane, Finland

Died May 11, 1976 (aged 78)Helsinki, Finland

Nationality Finnish

Awards RIBA Gold MedalAIA Gold Medal

Work

Buildings Paimio SanatoriumSäynätsalo Town HallViipuri LibraryVilla MaireaBaker HouseFinlandia Hall

Projects Helsinki City Centre

Design Savoy VasePaimio Chair

Alvar AaltoFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898, Kuortane –May 11, 1976, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect anddesigner. His work includes architecture, furniture,textiles and glassware. Aalto's early career runs in parallelwith the rapid economic growth and industrialization ofFinland during the first half of the twentieth century andmany of his clients were industrialists; among these werethe Ahlström-Gullichsen family.[1] The span of his career,from the 1920s to the 1970s, is reflected in the styles ofhis work, ranging from Nordic Classicism of the earlywork, to a rational International Style Modernism duringthe 1930s to a more organic modernist style from the1940s onwards. What is typical for his entire career,however, is a concern for design as a Gesamtkunstwerk, atotal work of art; whereby he - together with his first wifeAino Aalto - would design not just the building, but givespecial treatments to the interior surfaces and designfurniture, lamps, and furnishings and glassware. TheAlvar Aalto Museum, designed by Aalto himself, islocated in what is regarded as his home city Jyväskylä.[2]

Contents1 Biography

1.1 Life1.2 Career

2 Awards3 Works

3.1 Significant buildings3.2 Furniture and glassware

4 Quotes5 Memorials6 References7 Bibliography8 External links

Biography

Life

Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland.[3] His father, Johan Henrik Aalto, was a Finnish-speaking land-surveyor and his mother, Selly (Selma) Matilda (née Hackstedt) was a postmistress. When Aalto was 5 yearsold, the family moved to Alajärvi, and from there to Jyväskylä in Central Finland. Aalto studied at theJyväskylä Lyceum school, completing his basic education in 1916. In 1916 he then enrolled to study

Alvar and Elissa Aalto in the 1950s

The signature of Alvar Aalto on thewall of Jyväskylä's theatre building.

Alvar Aalto Studio, Helsinki (1954–56)

Main Building of the JyväskyläUniversity (1955)

Säynätsalo Townhall in Jyväskylä(1949–52)

architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology, graduating in1921.

In 1923 he returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his firstarchitectural office. Jyväskylä would become a notable city for hisarchitecture, with more buildings designed by him than in any othercity.[4] The following year he married architect Aino Marsio. Theirhoneymoon journey to Italy sealed an intellectual bond with theculture of the Mediterranean region that was to remain important toAalto for the rest of his life. The Aaltos moved their office to Turkuin 1927, and started collaborating with architect Erik Bryggman. Theoffice moved again in 1933 to Helsinki.

The Aaltos designed and builta joint house-office (1935–36) for themselves inMunkkiniemi, Helsinki, butlater (1954–56) had apurpose-built office built inthe same neighbourhood - thelatter building nowadayshouses the Alvar AaltoAcademy. Aino and AlvarAalto had 2 children, a

daughter Johanna "Hanni" Alanen, born Aalto, 1925, and a sonHamilkar Aalto, 1928. In 1926 the young Aaltos designed and hadbuilt a summer cottage in Alajärvi, Villa Flora. Aino Aalto died ofcancer in 1949. In 1952 Aalto married architect Elissa Mäkiniemi(died 1994), who had been working as an assistant in his office. In1952 Aalto designed and had built a summer cottage, the so-calledExperimental House, for himself and his new wife in Muuratsalo inCentral Finland. Alvar Aalto died on May 11, 1976, in Helsinki.[5]

Career

Early career: classicism

Although he is sometimes regarded as among the first and mostinfluential architects of Nordic modernism, a closer examination ofthe historical facts reveals that Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland)closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers inSweden, in particular Gunnar Asplund and Sven Markelius. Whatthey and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries hadin common was that they started off from a classical education andwere first designing in the so-called Nordic Classicism style – a stylethat had been a reaction to the previous dominant style of NationalRomanticism– before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism.On returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect's office, Aalto busied himself with a numberof single-family homes, all designed in the classical style, such as the manor-like house for his mother'scousin Terho Manner in Töysa in 1923, a summer villa for the Jyväskylä chief constable in 1923 and theAlatalo farmhouse in Tarvaala in 1924. During this period he also completed his first public buildings, the

Auditorium of the Viipuri MunicipalLibrary in the 1930s.

Villa Mairea in Noormarkku

Detail of Baker House facade on theCharles River

Auditorium of the University ofTechnology, Helsinki, Finland (1949-66)

Jyväskylä Workers' Club in 1925, the Jyväskylä Defence Corpsbuilding in 1926 and the Seinajoki Defence Corp building in 1924-29. Aalto also entered several architectural competitions forprestigious state public buildings, both in Finland and abroad,including the two competitions for the Finnish Parliamentarybuilding in 1923 and 1924, the extension to the University ofHelsinki in 1931, and the building to house the League of Nations inGeneva, Switzerland, in 1926-27. Furthermore, this was the periodwhen Aalto was most prolific in his writings, with articles forprofessional journals and newspapers. Among his most well-knownessays from this period are "Urban culture" 1924), "Temple baths onJyväskylä ridge" (1925), "Abbé Coignard's sermon" (1925), and"From doorstep to living room" (1926).[6]

Early career: functionalism

The shift in Aalto's design approach from classicism to modernism isepitomised by the Viipuri Library (1927–35), which went through atransformation from an originally classical competition entryproposal to the completed high-modernist building. Yet hishumanistic approach is in full evidence in the library: the interiordisplays natural materials, warm colours, and undulating lines. Dueto problems over financing and a change of site, the Viipuri Libraryproject lasted eight years, and during that same time he also designedthe Turun Sanomat Building (1929–30) and Paimio Sanatorium(1929–33). Thus, the Turun Sanomat Building first heralded Aalto'smove towards modernism, and this was then carried forward both inthe Paimio Sanatorium and in the on-going design for the library.Although the Turun Sanomat Building and Paimio Sanatorium arecomparatively pure modernist works, they too carried the seeds of hisquestioning of such an orthodox modernist approach and a move to amore daring, synthetic attitude.

Through Sven Markelius, Aalto became a member of the CongresInternationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), attending the secondcongress in Frankfurt in 1929 and the fourth congress in Athens in1933, where he established a close friendship with László Moholy-Nagy, Sigfried Giedion and Philip Morton Shand. It was during thistime that he followed closely the work of the main driving forcebehind the new modernism, Le Corbusier, and visited him in hisParis office several times in the following years.

It was not until the completion of the Paimio Sanatorium (1929) andViipuri Library (1935) that Aalto first achieved world attention inarchitecture. His reputation grew in the USA following the criticalreception of his design for the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 NewYork World's Fair, described by Frank Lloyd Wright as a "work ofgenius". It could be said that Aalto's international reputation wassealed with his inclusion in the second edition of Sigfried Giedion'sinfluential book on Modernist architecture, Space, Time and Architecture: The growth of a new tradition(1949), in which Aalto received more attention than any other Modernist architect, including Le Corbusier.In his analysis of Aalto, Giedion gave primacy to qualities that depart from direct functionality, such as

House of Culture, Helsinki

Finlandia Hall (1962–71)

Enso-Gutzeit HQ, Helsinki (1959-62)

The Aalto-Theater opera house inEssen, Germany

mood, atmosphere, intensity of life and even national characteristics,declaring that "Finland is with Aalto wherever he goes".

Mid career: experimentation

Aalto's early experiments with wood and his move away from apurist modernism would be tested in built form with the commissionto design Villa Mairea (1939) in Noormarkku, the luxury home of theyoung industrialist couple Harry and Maire Gullichsen. It was MaireGullichsen who acted as the main client, and she worked closely notonly with Alvar but also Aino Aalto on the design, inspiring them tobe more daring in their work. The original design was to include aprivate art gallery, but this was never built. The building forms a U-shape around a central inner "garden" the central feature of which is akidney-shaped swimming pool. Adjacent to the pool is a saunaexecuted in a rustic style, alluding to both Finnish and Japaneseprecedents. The design of the house is a synthesis of numerousstylistic influences, from traditional Finnish vernacular to puristmodernism, as well as influences from English and Japanesearchitecture. While the house is clearly intended for a wealthy family,Aalto nevertheless argued that it was also an experiment that wouldprove useful in the design of mass housing.[7]

His increased fame led to offers and commissions outside Finland. In1941 he accepted an invitation as a visiting professor to MIT, in theUSA. This was during the Second World War, and he involved hisstudents in designing low-cost, small-scale housing for thereconstruction of war-torn Finland. While teaching at MIT, Aaltoalso designed the student dormitory, Baker House, completed in1948. This building was the first building of Aalto's redbrick period.Originally used in Baker House to signify the Ivy League universitytradition, on his return to Finland Aalto used it in a number of keybuildings, in particular, in several of the buildings in the newHelsinki University of Technology campus (starting in 1950),Säynatsalo Town Hall (1952), Helsinki Pensions Institute (1954),Helsinki House of Culture (1958), as well as in his own summerhouse, the so-called Experimental House in Muuratsalo (1957).

Mature career: monumentalism

The early 1960s and 1970s (up until his death in 1976) were markedby key works in Helsinki, in particular the huge town plan for thevoid in centre of Helsinki adjacent to Töölö Bay and the vast railwayyards, and marked on the edges by significant buildings such as the National Museum and the main railwaystation, both by Eliel Saarinen. In his town plan Aalto proposed a line of separate marble-clad buildingsfronting the bay which would house various cultural institutions, including a concert hall, opera, museum ofarchitecture and headquarters for the Finnish Academy. The scheme also extended into the Kamppi districtwith a series of tall office blocks. Aalto first presented his scheme in 1961, but it went through variousmodifications during the early 1960s. Only two fragments of the overall plan were ever realized: theFinlandia Hall concert hall (1976) fronting Töölö Bay, and an office building in the Kamppi district for theHelsinki Electricity Company (1975). The Miesian formal language of geometric grids employed in thebuildings was also used by Aalto for other sites in Helsinki, including the Enso-Gutzeit building (1962), the

KUNSTEN Museum of Modern ArtAalborg, Denmark (1958–72)

Academic Bookstore (1962) and the SYP Bank building (1969).

Following Aalto's death in 1976 his office continued to operate under the direction of his widow, Elissa,completing works already to some extent designed. These works include the Jyväskylä City Theatre andEssen opera house. Since the death of Elissa Aalto the office has continued to operate as the Alvar AaltoAcademy, giving advice on the restoration of Aalto buildings and organising the vast archive material.

AwardsAalto's awards included the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects(1957) and the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1963). He was elected a ForeignHonorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1957.[8]

WorksAalto's career spans the changes in style from (Nordic Classicism) to purist International Style Modernism toa more personal, synthetic and idiosyncratic Modernism. Aalto's wide field of design activity ranges fromthe large scale of city planning and architecture to interior design, furniture and glassware design andpainting. It has been estimated that during his entire career Aalto designed over 500 individual buildings,approximately 300 of which were built, the vast majority of which are in Finland. He also has a fewbuildings in the USA, Germany, Italy, and France.[9]

Aalto claimed that his paintings were not made as individual artworks but as part of his process ofarchitectural design, and many of his small-scale "sculptural" experiments with wood led to later largerarchitectural details and forms. These experiments also led to a number of patents: for example, he inventeda new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932. His experimental method had been influenced byhis meetings with various members of the Bauhaus design school, especially László Moholy-Nagy, whom hefirst met in 1930. Aalto's furniture was exhibited in London in 1935, to great critical acclaim, and to copewith the consumer demand Aalto, together with his wife Aino, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahlfounded the company Artek that same year. Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured byIittala.

Aalto's 'High Stool' and 'Stool E60' (manufactured by Artek are currently used in Apple stores across theworld to serve as seating for customers. Finished in black lacquer, the stools are used to seat customers at the'Genius Bar' and also in other areas of the store at times when seating is required for a product workshop orspecial event.

Significant buildings

1921–1923: Bell tower of Kauhajärvi Church, Lapua,Finland1924–1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi, Finland1926–1929: Defence Corps Building, Jyväskylä, Finland1927–1935: Municipal library, Viipuri, Finland (nowVyborg, Russia)1928–1929, 1930: Turun Sanomat newspaper offices,Turku, Finland1928–1929: Paimio Sanatorium, Tuberculosis sanatoriumand staff housing, Paimio, Finland1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (formerYugoslavia)

The main building Capitolium of theUniversity of Jyväskylä

Tea cart (tea trolley)

1932: – Villa Tammekann, Tartu, Estonia1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior, Zürich,Switzerland1936–1938: Ahlstrom Sunila Pulp Mill, Housing, andTown Plan, Kotka1937–1939: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland1939: Finnish Pavilion, at the 1939 World's Fair1947–1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA1949–1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo,Finland1949–1952: Säynätsalo Town Hall, 1949 competition, built1952, Säynätsalo (now part of Jyväskylä), Finland1950–1957: Kansaneläkelaitos (National PensionInstitution) office building, Helsinki, Finland1952–1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland1953: The Experimental House, Muuratsalo, Finland1958–1987: Town centre, Seinäjoki, Finland1958–1972: KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark1959–1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland1962: Aalto-Hochhaus, Bremen, Germany1965: Regional Library of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland1962–1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland1963–1965: Building for Västmanland-Dala nation, Uppsala, Sweden1965–1968: Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland1970: Mount Angel Abbey Library, St. Benedict, Oregon, USA1959–1988: Essen opera house, Essen, Germany

Furniture and glassware

Chairs

1932: Paimio Chair[10]

1933: Three-legged stacking Stool 60[11]

1933: Four-legged Stool E60[12]

1935-6: Armchair 404 (a/k/a/ Zebra Tank Chair)[13]

1939: Armchair 406[14]

Lamps

1954: Floor lamp A805[15]

1959: Floor lamp A810[16]

Vases

1936: Aalto Vase

Quotes"God created paper for the purpose of drawing architectureon it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper."Alvar Aalto, Sketches, 1978, 104.

Armchair 400 with reindeer fur

"We should work for simple, good, undecorated things"and he continues, "but things which are in harmony withthe human being and organically suited to the little man inthe street." Alvar Aalto, speech in London 1957.

MemorialsAalto has been commemorated in a number of ways:

Alvar Aalto is the eponym of the Alvar Aalto Medal, nowconsidered one of world architecture’s most prestigiousawards.Aalto was featured in the 50 mk note in the last series ofthe Finnish markka (before its replacement by the Euro in2002).1998 marked the centenary anniversary of Aalto's birth. The occasion was marked in Finland notonly by several books and exhibitions but also by the promotion of specially-bottled red and whiteAalto Wine, and a specially-designed cup-cake.In the year of his death, 1976, Aalto was commomorated on a Finnish postage stamp.Aalto University, a new Finnish university (an amalgamation of Helsinki University ofTechnology, Helsinki School of Economics and TaiK) established in 2010, is named after AlvarAalto.An Alvar Aallon katu (Alvar Aalto Street) can be found in three different Finnish cities:Jyväskylä, Oulu and Seinäjoki.

References1. ^ "Architecture.sk (http://architect.architecture.sk/alvar-aalto-architect/alvar-aalto-architect.php) ."2. ^ Alvaraalto.fi (http://www.alvaraalto.fi/)3. ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 14. ^ Infoa.fi (http://www.infoa.fi/lansisuomi/showinfo.php?county=29)5. ^ "Aalto, Alvar (http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9003202) ." Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 December 2006.6. ^ Alvar Aalto in his own words, edited by Göran Schildt, Otava, Helsinki, 1997. ISBN 951-1-1-15065-07. ^ Juhani Pallasmaa, Villa Mairea, Rakennustieto Publishing, 2005.8. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf)

. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf.Retrieved 18 March 2011.

9. ^ Göran Schildt, Alvar Aalto. A life's work: Architecture, Design and Art. Otava, Helsinki, 199410. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/fi/products/armchairs/7)11. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/chairs/128)12. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/chairs/11)13. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/armchairs/29)14. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/armchairs/33)15. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/lighting/150)16. ^ Artek (http://www.artek.fi/products/lighting/139)

BibliographyGöran Schildt

Göran Schildt has written and edited many books on Aalto, the most well-known being the three-volumebiography, usually referred to as the definitive biography on Aalto.

Alvar Aalto. The Early Years Rizzoli: New York, 1984.Alvar Aalto. The Decisive Years Rizzoli: New York, 1987.Alvar Aalto. The Mature Years Rizzoli: New York, 1991.The Architectural Drawings of Alvar Aalto, 1917–1939, in eleven volumes. Prepared by the AlvarAalto Archive in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the AlvarAalto Museum, Jyväskylä; with introduction and project descriptions by Göran Schildt. GarlandPublishing: New York, 1994.Alvar Aalto in His Own Words. Rizzoli: New York, 1998.Alvar Aalto: The Complete Catalogue of Architecture, Design and Art. Rizzoli: New York, 1994.

Other books

Alvar Aalto Architect, Alvar Aalto Academy: Helsinki. A 28-part series of books chroniclingsignificant Aalto works. Volumes already published:

Volume 7: Sunila.Volume 9: Villa Mairea.Volume 13: University of Technology, Otaniemi.Volume 20: Maison Carreé.

Alvar Aalto Arkkitehti / Architect 1898–1976, Rakennustieto / Alvar Aalto Foundation: Helsinki,1999.Fleig, Karl Alvar Aalto, Editorial Gustavo Gili: Barcelona, 1992.Porphyrios, Demetri Sources of Modern Eclecticism, Academy Editions: London, 1982.Pallasmaa, Juhani (Ed.) Alvar Aalto Furniture, Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1984.Pelkonen, Eeva-Liisa Alvar Aalto: Architecture, Modernity, and Geopolitics. Yale ArchitecturePress: New York, 2009.Reed, Peter (Ed.) Alvar Aalto: between humanism and materialism. Museum of Modern Art/H.N.Abrams. New York, 1998.Ruusuvuori, Aarno (Ed.) Alvar Aalto 1898–1976. Museum of Finnish Architecture: Helsinki 1998Jormakka, Kari; Gargus, Jacqueline; Graf, Douglas The Use and Abuse of Paper. Essays on AlvarAalto. Datutop 20: Tampere 1999.Connah, Roger Aaltomania – Readings against Aalto? Building Information Ltd: Helsinki, 2000.Weston, Richard Alvar Aalto. Phaidon: London, 1995.

Aalto research

The extensive archives of Alvar Aalto are nowadays kept at the Alvar Aalto Museum(http://www.alvaraalto.fi/museum/) , Jyväskylä, Finland. Material is also available from theformer offices of Aalto, at Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, nowadays the headquarters of the Alvar AaltoFoundation. (http://www.alvaraalto.fi/)Since 1995 the Alvar Aalto Museum and Aalto Academy has published a journal, Ptah(http://www.alvaraalto.fi/ptah/) , which is devoted not only to Aalto scholarship but also toarchitecture generally as well as theory, design and art.

External linksArchives

Alvar Aalto Foundation (http://www.alvaraalto.fi/) Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawingsand writings.

Resources

Alvar Aalto (http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=34) at the Museum of ModernArt

Alvar Aalto biography (http://www.finnishdesign.com/finnish-designers/alvar-aalto) atFinnishDesign.comShort Biographies: Alvar Aalto (http://www.short-biographies.com/biographies/AlvarAalto.html)Aalto bibliography (http://www.alvaraalto.fi/alvar/biblio.htm) – From the official siteAlvar Aalto – Design Dictionary (http://www.designdictionary.co.uk/en/aalto.htm) Illustratedarticle about Alvar AaltoAlvar Aalto (http://www.iespana.es/legislaciones/Alvar_Aalto.htm) Biography in Spanish aboutAlvar AaltoModern Furniture and the history of Moulded Plywood(http://www.modernfurnitureclassics.com/index.php/main_page/editorial/title/Title%2015) Roleplayed by Alvar Alto in the use of Moulded plywood for furniture.Alvar Aalto in German (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/d/D8115.php) , French (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F8115.php) and Italian (http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/i/I8115.php) in theonline Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.Alvar Aalto (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6390160) at Find a Grave

Catalogs

Artek.fi (http://www.artek.fi) , Aalto furniture; company founded by Aalto.Alvar Aalto glassware (http://www.iittala.com/web/iittalacom.nsf/vwsearchview_en?SearchView&LANG=en&SearchOrder=4&Query=(aalto)) , iittala.comBetween Humanism and Materialism (http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/1998/aalto/) New YorkMuseum of Modern Art exhibit site. Contains an especially useful timeline of his life and career.

Buildings and reviews

Checkonsite.com (http://www.checkonsite.com/browse/architect/featured-architects/alvar-aalto/) -Alvar Aalto architecture guide."Ahead of the curve" (http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2035974,00.html) TheGuardian – Fiona MacCarthy recalls a shared lunch of smoked reindeer and schnapps in hiselegant Helsinki restaurantBaker House (http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/aalto/aalto.html)North Jutland Museum (http://www.nordjyllandskunstmuseum.dk/Default.aspx?ID=656)S. Maria Assunta – Riola BO Italy (http://puredesign.it/mygallery/list.php?exhibition=10&lang=eng)

Shops

Alvar Aalto Collection (http://www.tomorrowsantique.com/en/Alvar-Aalto/) Tomorrow's AntiqueAlvar Aalto furniture collection.Coliseum-shop.com Alvar Aalto Furniture Selection. (http://www.coliseum-shop.com/en/catalog/designers/39-Alvar%20Aalto.html)Aalto.com – Alvar Aalto Collection (http://www.aalto.com/) Shop dedicated to Alvar Aaltodesigns.

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