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Aalto, Alvar [1898-1976. Finland. Furniture/Industrial Designer/Architect]

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto [commonly known as Alvar Aalto] was born in Kuortane, near Jyvaskyla, Finland, on 3 February 1898. He studied architecture at the Helsingen Teknilien Korkeakoulu under Armas Lindgren (1916-21), following which he worked as an exhibition designer (1921-22).

Aalto established an architectural office in Jyväskyla in 1923 which subsequently moved to Turku in 1927 and Helsinki in 1933. In 1924 he married the architect Aino Mario, and over the next 25 years the pair worked closely together on many projects, notably in the development of moulded plywood and laminated wood for furniture. In 1929, with Otto Korhonen, the Aaltos set up an expermental plywood workshop in Turku, and six years later, in 1935, together with Nils-Gustaf Hahl and Maire Gullichsen, they established Artek, a retail outlet in Helsinki for marketing Aalto's designs.

Significant furniture designs by Aalto included the '611' stackable chair (1929-30), the '15' stackable upholstered armchair (1929-30), the '31' cantilevered armchair (1931-32), the '900' tea trolley (1936-37), the '39' cantilevered armchair (1936-37), the '406' armchair (1946-47), the '612' chair (1946-47), the '45' armchair (1946-47), the 'X66' stool (1954), the 'X601' stool (1954) and the '412’ chair (1965). Aalto also designed in glass. Notable work in this medium included the 'Savoy' vase (also known as the the 'Aalto' and the 'Paris Vase') which was one of a set of ten pieces designed by Aalto for a competitition organised by the Finnish glassworks Karhula Iittala in 1936; and the 'Aalto-Kukka' vases and dishes designed for Riihimaki in 1939. Light fittings formed a substantial part of the objects designed by Alvar Aalto for his buildings and were the subject of the exhibitions ‘Play of Light’, organised by Design Forum Helsinki, and held at Design Forum, Helsinki, 3 February-1 March 1998; and 'Golden Bell and Beehive' at the Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä, Finland, 1 November 2001-28 February 2002.

Aalto was also an artist. His drawings, paintings and sculpture featured in an exhibition at the Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, 4 February-29 March 1998.

Aalto was active as an architect for a period of nearly sixty years. His first recorded project was the remodelling of the Aalto family house Alajärvi, Finland, in 1918. The range of his architectural work subsequently included the design of churches, hospitals, schools, town halls, , shopping centres, office buildings, apartment blocks, theatres, art galleries, railway stations, libraries, stadiums, etc. He designed the Finnish Pavilions at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris in 1937 and the New York World's Fair in 1939-40.

Aalto was also engaged on a number of town planning projects from the 1920s. These were the subject of an exhibition, ‘Alvar Aalto: Urban Visions’, at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, 10 June-13 September 1998.

Among his numerous honours and awards Aalto was made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry (Hon.RDI) by the Royal Society of Arts in London in 1947 and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1958. He was also given the Royal Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1957, a Gold Medal by the American Institute of Architects in 1963, and a Gold Medal by the Academie d'Architecture in Paris in 1972.

Aalto died in Helsinki on 11 May 1976.

DESIGN RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS (DRP) ©

Armchair, modl no.52, 1932, birch-veneered bent plywood, by Alvar aalto

Bibliography

1. Alvar Aalto designer. Edited by Pirkko Tuukkanen. Jyväskylä, Finland: Alvar Aalto Museum, 2002

2. Connah, Roger and Jantunsen, Paivi. Alvar and Aino aalto as glass designers. Iittala, Finland: Iittala Glass Museum, 1996

3. Dent-Coad, Emma. ‘A remarkable bent’ Design October 1987 p.66

4. Fiell, Charlotte and Fiell, Peter. Scandinavian Design Cologne: Taschen, 2002

5. Fleig, Karl, et al. Alvar Aalto: the complete works. 3 volumes. Zurich: Verlag für Architektur Artemis, 1978

6. Giedion, Sigfried. ‘Aalvar Aalto’ Architectural Reviewe vol.107, January 1950 p.84

7. Kulvik, Barbro. ‘Exhibition of Alvar Aalto’s design in New York’ Form Function Finland no.4,, 1984 pp.42-43

8. Pallasmaam, Juhani. Alvar Aalto furniture. Helsinki: Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1984

9. Pearson, Paul David. Alvar Aalto and the International Style. London: Mitchell, 1990

10. Scandinavian Modern Design 1880-1980. Edited by David Revere McFadden New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1982 [Catalogue of an exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, and elsewhere]

11. Schildt, Goran. Alvar Aalto: the decisive years. New York: Rizzoli, 1986

12. Schildt, Göran. Alvar Aalto: the mature years. New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991. Originally published as ‘Inhimillen tekijä, Alvar Aalto 1939-1976. (Helsinki: Otavo, 1990).

13. Sparke, Penny. ‘Aalto worship’ Design Week 24 January 1987 pp.13-15

14. Weale, Jo. Contributions of Designers to Comtemporary Furniture Design. PhD. thesis, Florida State University, 1989

15. Wrede, Stuart. ‘An archaeology of Aalto’ Progressive Architecture vol.106, no.2, February 1975 pp.57-67

16. ‘Aalto: interior architecture and furnishings’ Progressive Architecture vol.58, no.4, April 1977 pp.74-77

Weblinks

Alvar Aalto Museo