Alvar Alto
Biography:
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, was born in Finland in 1898.In He enrolled to study architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology. (later Helsinki University of Technology and now part of the Aalto University) His early works followed the tenets of Nordic Classicism, the predominant style at that time. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he made journeys to Europe on which he and his wife Aino Marsio, also an architect, became familiar with the latest trends in Modernism, the International Style. The pure Functionalist phase in Aalto’s work lasted for several years. It enabled him to make an international breakthrough, largely because of Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933), an important Functionalist milestone. From the late 1930s onwards, the architectural expression of Aalto’s buildings became enriched by the use of organic forms, natural materials and increasing freedom in the handling of space. From the 1950s onwards, Aalto’s architectural practice was employed principally on the design of public buildings, such as Säynätsalo Town Hall (1948-1952), the Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics, now the University of Jyväskylä (1951-1957), and the House of Culture in Helsinki (1952-1956). His urban design master plans represent larger projects, the most notable schemes that were built being Seinäjoki city centre (1956-1965/87) and Rovaniemi city centre (1963-1976/88). From the early 1950s onwards, Alvar Aalto’s work focused more and more on countries outside Finland, so that a number of buildings both private and public were built to his designs abroad. Aalto, who had spoken and written a good deal earlier, concentrated on designing during later years.
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