Alvar Aalto, Hon. AIA

Year Awarded: 1963
Born: February 03, 1898; Kuortane, Finland
Died: 1976; Helsinki,Finland

Quote
The very essence of architecture consists of a variety and development reminiscent of natural organic life. This is the only true style in architecture. Yes, of course you can and must fly, but it should be with one foot on the ground—or at least a big toe.


Projects
• 1988: Essen Opera House, Essen, Germany
• 1978: Riola Parish Church, at Riola, Italy
• 1972: North Jutland Art Museum, Aalborg, Denmark
• 1970: Mount Angel Library, at Mount Angel, Oregon
• 1969: Otaniemi Technical University Library, at Otaniemi, Finland
• 1966: Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland
• 1965: Seinajoki Town Hall & Library, Seinajoki, Finland
• 1959: Villa Carre, at Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France
• 1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland
• 1956: Aalto Studio at Munkkiniemi, Helsinki, Finland
• 1953: Aalto Summer House, Muuratsalo, Helsinki, Finland
• 1948: Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
• 1939: Finnish Pavilion, 1939 World's Fair, New York City
• 1937: Finnish Pavilion, 1937 World's Fair, Paris, France
• 1933: Paimio Sanatorium, Paimio, Finland
• 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia
• 1927: Töölö Church, Helsinki, Finland
• 1923: Bell Tower, Kauhajärvi, Finland


Biography
Born Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, he was the oldest of three children in a middle-class family. His father, a surveyor, moved the family when Alvar was only five to Jyväskylä, Finland, his residence for the next 24 years. Jyväskylä has 37 Aalto buildings, more than any other.

Aalto graduated from Jyväskylä Classical Lyceum in 1916 and from there went to the Helsinki University of Technology to study architecture; he graduated with honors in 1921. After graduation, he worked briefly as an exhibition designer; he returned to Jyväskylä, and in 1923, he opened his first architecture office. In 1927, he moved to Turku to work with Erik Bryggman; in 1933 he moved again, this time to Helsinki, where he opened a new architecture firm. In 1946 he went to Cambridge, Mass., to teach for two years as a professor of architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Aalto was a member of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) from 1928 to 1956. From 1943 to 1958, he served as the chairman of the Association of Finnish Architects. In 1955, he became a member of the Academy of Finland, and from 1963 to 1968 he served as its president. He won the Sonning Prize in 1962, and in 1957 he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Aalto is considered a father of the Scandinavian modern movement. His works demonstrate his concern for aligning the indoor environment with the outdoors, creating synergy between nature and his designs to express both structural functionalism and beauty.