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Architect

Alvar Aalto

1898–1976 · Finnish · 29 buildings on the wall

Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) was a Finnish architect and designer who gave modernism a human scale through wood, brick, daylight and curving lines. His career runs from Nordic Classicism in the 1920s, through functionalism in the 1930s, to the organic modernism of his later work. With his first wife, Aino Aalto, he also designed furniture, lamps and glassware, and their bent plywood furniture influenced Charles and Ray Eames.

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The Paimio Sanatorium (1933), designed with Aino Aalto, and Viipuri Library in Vyborg (1935) first won him world attention; the library has an undulating timber ceiling shaped to spread sound and deep round skylights that light the reading desks without glare. At Villa Mairea in Noormarkku (1939), stair columns of bound wood suggest a forest. Baker House at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1949), bends along the Charles River to give each room a view and fresh air, and began his red-brick period. Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952) gathers a council chamber, offices and a library around a raised courtyard in brick, timber and copper. Alvar Aalto's buildings are studied for natural materials, daylight, and designing a building and its furnishings as one.

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Read about the work

Wikipedia · Alvar Aalto Alvar Aalto Foundation

ArchDaily · Alvar Aalto office page

Books to read

Alvar AaltoRichard Weston, 1995 Nature and SpaceNature and Space: Aalto and Le CorbusierSarah Menin and Flora Samuel, 2003

Aalto and AmericaStanford Anderson, Gail Fenske and David Fixler (editors), 2012 Alvar AaltoAlvar AaltoRobert McCarter, 2014 SketchesSketchesAlvar Aalto, edited by Göran Schildt, 1978

Viiva = Linjen = The LineAlvar Aalto, 1993

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Herzog & de Meuron · Zaha Hadid · Frank Gehry · Oscar Niemeyer

Picked by the ideas their buildings share.

Alvar Aalto buildings 29

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Turun Sanomat Building, Turku

Turun Sanomat Building1930 · Turku

Sunila Pulp Mill and Housing, Kotka

Sunila Pulp Mill and Housing1939 · Kotka

Baker House, Cambridge

Baker House1949 · Cambridge

Muuratsalo Experimental House, Jyväskylä

Muuratsalo Experimental House1953 · Jyväskylä

Studio Aalto, Helsinki

Studio Aalto1955 · Helsinki

Church of the Three Crosses, Imatra

Church of the Three Crosses1958 · Imatra

Lakeuden Risti Church, Seinajoki

Lakeuden Risti Church1960 · Seinajoki

Alvar Aalto Cultural Centre, Wolfsburg

Alvar Aalto Cultural Centre1962 · Wolfsburg

Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters (Stora Enso), Helsinki

Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters (Stora Enso)1962 · Helsinki

Aalto University Undergraduate Centre (Otaniemi main building), Espoo

Aalto University Undergraduate Centre (Otaniemi main building)1966 · Espoo

Rovaniemi Library, Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi Library1968 · Rovaniemi

Finlandia Hall, Helsinki

Finlandia Hall1971 · Helsinki

Lappia Hall, Rovaniemi

Lappia Hall1975 · Rovaniemi

Santa Maria Assunta, Riola, Riola

Santa Maria Assunta, Riola1978 · Riola

Aalto Theatre, Essen

Aalto Theatre1988 · Essen

Paimio Sanatorium, Paimio

Paimio Sanatorium1933 · Paimio

Viipuri Library, Vyborg

Viipuri Library1935 · Vyborg

Villa Mairea, Noormarkku

Villa Mairea1939 · Noormarkku

Säynätsalo Town Hall, Jyväskylä

Säynätsalo Town Hall1952 · Jyväskylä

Rautatalo, Helsinki

Rautatalo1955 · Helsinki

Kela Main Office (National Pensions Institute), Helsinki

Kela Main Office (National Pensions Institute)1956 · Helsinki

House of Culture (Kulttuuritalo), Helsinki

House of Culture (Kulttuuritalo)1958 · Helsinki

Maison Louis Carré, Bazoches-sur-Guyonne

Maison Louis Carré1959 · Bazoches-sur-Guyonne

Aalto-Hochhaus, Bremen

Aalto-Hochhaus1962 · Bremen

Seinäjoki City Hall, Seinäjoki

Seinäjoki City Hall1965 · Seinäjoki

Nordic House, Reykjavík

Nordic House1968 · Reykjavík

Academic Bookstore (Kirjatalo), Helsinki

Academic Bookstore (Kirjatalo)1969 · Helsinki

Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä

Alvar Aalto Museum1973 · Jyväskylä

Church of the Cross, Lahti

Church of the Cross1978 · Lahti