Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898 — May 11, 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. He was generally known as Alvar Aalto.
He was noted for his humanistic approach and for being one of the first and the most influential architects of Scandinavian modernism, so much so that he is sometimes known as the "Father of Modernism" in Scandinavia. His work includes architecture, furniture and glassware.
He was a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Major works include the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland, and the campus of Helsinki University of Technology. Aalto's glassware includes the world-famous Aalto Vase.
He is the eponym of the Alvar Aalto Medal, now considered one of world architecture’s most prestigious awards.
Biography
Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland. He studied architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology from 1916 to 1921. He returned to Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office in 1923. The following year he married architect Aino Marsio. Their honeymoon journey to Italy sealed an intellectual bond with the culture of the Mediterranean region that was to remain important to Aalto for the rest of his life.
After Aino's death Aalto married Elissa Mäkiniemi.
Works
Aalto's wide field of activity ranged from furniture and glassware designs to architecture and painting. His vase designs are world-famous. He invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture in 1932. Aalto furniture is manufactured by Artek, a company Aalto co-founded. Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is manufactured by iittala.
Significant buildings
- 1921 – 1923: Bell tower of Kauhajärvi Church, Lapua, Finland
- 1924 – 1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi, Finland
- 1926 – 1929: Defence Corps Building, Jyväskylä, Finland
- 1927 – 1935: Municipal library, Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, Russia), new drawings, 1928, 1929, 1933, built according to last drawings 1934 – 1935.
- 1928 – 1929, 1930: Turun Sanomat newspaper offices, Turku, Finland
- 1928 – 1929: Paimio Sanatorium, Tuberculosis sanatorium and staff housing, Paimio, Finland
- 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (former Yugoslavia)
- 1932 – Villa Tammekann, Tartu, Estonia
- 1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior, Zürich, Switzerland
- 1937: Finnish Pavilion, 1937 World's Fair
- 1937 – 1939: Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland
- 1939: Finnish Pavilion, 1939 World's Fair
- 1947 – 1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- 1949 – 1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
- 1949 – 1952: Säynätsalo Town Hall, 1949 competition, built 1952, Säynätsalo (now part of Jyväskylä), Finland,
- 1950 – 1957: Kansaneläkelaitos (National Pension Institution) office building, Helsinki, Finland
- 1952 – 1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland
- 1958 – 1987: Town centre, Seinäjoki, Finland
- 1958 – 1972: North Jutland Art Museum, Aalborg, Denmark
- 1959 – 1962: Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters, Helsinki, Finland
- 1965: Regional Library of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
- 1962 – 1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland
- 1963 – 1965: Building for Westmannia-Dalecarlia Nation, Uppsala, Sweden
- 1965 – 1968: Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland
- 1970: Mount Angel Abbey Library, Mount Angel, Oregon
- 1959 – 1988: Essen opera house, Essen, Germany
Furniture and glassware
- Chairs
- 1932: Paimio Chair [1]
- 1933: Three-legged stacking Stool 60 [2]
- 1933: Four-legged Stool E60 [3]
- 1939: Armchair 406 [4]
- Lamps
- Vases
Selected works
References
- Göran Schildt
Göran Schildt has written and edited many books on Aalto.
- Aalto, Alvar. The Architectural Drawings of Alvar Aalto, 1917-1939, in eleven volumes. Prepared by the Alvar Aalto Archive in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä; with introduction and project descriptions by Göran Schildt. New York, Garland Pub., 1994.
- Aalto, Alvar. Alvar Aalto in His Own Words. Schildt, Göran, (Ed.) Rizzoli, New York, 1998.
- Schildt, Göran. Alvar Aalto: The complete catalogue of architecture, design, and art. Timothy Binham, English translator. Rizzoli, New York, 1994.
- Other authors
- Pallasmaa, Juhani (Ed.) Alvar Aalto Furniture, Museum of Finnish Architecture. Helsinki 1984
- 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 1998
- Jormakka, Kari; Gargus, Jacqueline; Graf, Douglas The Use and Abuse of Paper. Essays on Alvar Aalto. Datutop 20, Tampere 1999.
- Research notes
- Books have been written on very many of Aalto's designs. His work is also well documented in the various architectural magazines.
- The extensive archives of Alvar Aalto are nowadays kept at the Alvar Aalto Museum, Jyväskylä, Finland. Material is also available from the former offices of Aalto, at Tiilimäki 20, Helsinki, nowadays housing the Alvar Aalto Foundation.The Alvar Aalto Museum publishes a journal (twice a year), ptah, which is devoted not only to Aalto's work but also architecture, design and art, generally.
- One of the most extensive collections of references on Alvar Aalto in the U.S. can be found at the University of Oregon.
- For a brief chronological list of the life and works of Aalto, as well as a bibliography, see the publication Alvar Aalto Arkkitehti / Architect 1898-1976, Rakennustieto / Alvar Aalto Säätiö, Helsinki, 1999.
External links
- Archives
- Alvar Aalto Foundation Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawings and writings.
- University of Oregon Aalto collection
- Alvar Aalto A Modern Architect
- Resources
- Alvar Aalto - Design Dictionary Architect and designer Alvar Aalto.
- Catalogs
- artek Aalto furniture; company founded by Aalto.
- Alvar Aalto glassware iittala
- Between Humanism and Materialism New York Museum of Modern Art exhibit site. Contains an especially useful timeline of his life and career.
- Buildings