Alvar Aalto's Journey as a Pioneer in Modern Architecture and Design

The man, whose full name is Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, came from an educated family. His father was a Finnish-speaking surveyor, and his mother was a Swedish-speaking postal employee. Alvar Aalto was born in the small village of Kuortane in western Finland. He was the eldest of four children. Drawing was his favorite subject when Aalto was young.

Aalto University (cr: Tuomas Uusheimo)

This made him choose a career path as an architect and continue his education at the Helsinki Institute of Technology (later Helsinki University of Technology and now called Aalto University), which was the only place that taught architecture at that time. In his journey of studying, he encountered obstacles because of the political conditions related to the wave of awakening and the increasing national identity in Finland. When he returned to college, he studied it enthusiastically and graduated with honors as an architect in the summer of 1921.

Alvar Aalto (cr: Alvar Aalto Museum)

After graduating, Aalto established his first architectural practice in Jyväskylä. His early works followed the principles of Nordic Classicism, which was quite dominant then. Alvar Aalto became familiar with the latest trends in Modernism and the International Style during his trips to Europe with his wife Aino Marsio, an architect. He met a group of colleagues from Turku, including Erik Bryggman, who shared his interest in modernism and led him to design the Turku 700th Anniversary Exhibition, which was an important event for the journey of modern architecture in Finland.

Jyväskylän Workers´ Club (cr: Alvar Aalto Museum)

Turku 700th Anniversary Exhibition (cr: Alvar Aalto Museum)

The pure functionalist phase in Aalto's work lasted for several years. It allowed for an international breakthrough due to the Paimo Sanatorium (1929-1933), a major functionalist milestone. 1929 was an important year for Aalto, through CIAM, he met several interesting proponents of the new architecture, people who would become his friends, such as Carola and Siegfried Giedion, the critics, and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, the Bauhaus teacher and exponent of art in various forms. From the late 1930s onwards, Aalto's buildings were dominated by natural materials, organic forms, and increased freedom in space treatment.

Paimio Sanatorium (cr: Alvar Aalto Museum)

Each building was treated as a complete work of art, including furniture by Aalto. In 1935, Artek was formed to promote furniture production and its growing sales. His furniture designs combined practicality and aesthetics. His seriousness in furniture design was evident from his victory in the Karhula-Iittala glassware design competition in 1936, which resulted in the birth of the world-famous Savoy vase.

Savoy Vase (cr: Alvar Aalto Museum)

Säynätsalo Town Hall (cr: Fernanda Castro)

Aalto's architectural practice in designing public buildings began in the 1950s, including Säynätsalo Town Hall (1948-1952), Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics (1951-1957), now the University of Jyväskylä and the House of Culture in Helsinki (1952-1956). His larger and more famous projects include the city center of Seinäjoki (1956-1965/87), the city center of Rovaniemi (1963-1976/88), and the partially built administrative and cultural center of Jyväskylä (1970-1982). From the early 1950s, most of Alvar Aalto's work focused on countries outside Finland, with many public and private buildings built to his designs abroad. Other famous works by Alvar Aalto include the Viipuri Library, MIT Baker House Dormitory, Maison Louis Carré, Finlandia Hall, and many more.

Maison Louis Carré (cr: Samuel Ludwig)

Finlandia Hall (cr: Pete Laakso)