Aalto B
orn Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, a young Alvar Aalto grew up in Finland during the early 1900’s. His mother died when he was five so he learned a lot from his father growing up, who was a government surveyor. Aalto originally wanted to be a painter, but his father wanted him to work in a more secure line of work, so Aalto compromised with Architecture. It was a field that involved math and science but still allowed him to be artistically creative. He ended up studying architecture at the Technical College in Helsinki from 1916-1921, and was taught by architect Armas Lindgren and his colleague Eliel Saarinen, who inspired many integral aspects of Aalto’s style. alto was also heavily influenced by the shifting architectural styles during the early 20th century. Rationalist and Functionalist styles were being developed by Le Corbusier in France, the De Stijl group in the Netherlands, and the Bauhaus in Germany, and these styles reached Scandinavia during the late 1920’s. Aalto was ultimately most inspired by the Bauhaus’ because of its incorporation of ideas of social reform into its guiding design principles. In 1929 Aalto was invited to join the Congrès International d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM), and was able to learn from and make connections with architects like Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Siegfried Giedion, and Philip Morton Shand.
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alto was also heavily influenced by the shifting architectural styles during the early 20th century. Rationalist and Functionalist styles were being developed by Le Corbusier in France, the De Stijl group in the Netherlands, and the Bauhaus in Germany, and these styles reached Scandinavia during the late 1920’s. Aalto was ultimately most inspired by the Bauhaus’ because of its incorporation of ideas of social reform into its guiding design principles. In 1929 Aalto was invited to join the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), and was able to learn from and make connections with architects like Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Siegfried Giedion, and Philip Morton Shand.
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arly in his career, Aalto’s style reflects the rising Rationalist and Functionalist movements. However, he kept in mind that his mentors Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen had encouraged him to create “live, dynamic forms, and … to adapt architecture to the natural environment”. These principles began to guide his work away from the very machinist Rationalist style, and towards the development of a personal style that aimed to humanize modernism. He gravitated away from the industrial production methods other modernist architects were using, and instead chose to incorporate materials and aspects of the Finnish vernacular, and to use forms and materials that mimicked nature. t was common in Scandinavia to hold contests for the commission of buildings, and Aalto received many of his commissions in Finland by submitting winning designs, which was the case for his designs of the Paimio Sanatorium and the Viipuri Library. His work gained recognition because it was extremely unique in its awareness of and concern for the occupants. Much of his international recognition came from his furniture designs, because they could be easily displayed at World’s Fairs and other international expos. Ultimately, Aalto was extremely successful because of his integrity as an architect in designing what he believed was important architecture, rather than what society and trends
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“Beauty is the harmony of purpose and form.” Alvar Aalto, 1928
dictated.