Alvar Aalto was one of the first...

[Michael Grove]

and most influential architects of the Scandinavian modern movement, and a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Major architectural works include Finlandia Hall, Paimio Sanitarium, and Restaurant Savoy. Aino and Alvar Aalto not only would design a building, but it's interior features to create an entire work of art. The furniture, lighting, and glassware put into these buildings have become just as iconic as the structure itself, and Aalto afficianados can enjoy the famous designs in their own home. 

“My furniture rarely, if ever, arises as the result of professional design. Almost without exception, I have designed it in conjunction with architectural projects, a mixed bag of public buildings, aristocratic residences, and workers’ huts. It’s great fun to design furniture in this way." - Alvar Aalto.

Alvar Aalto is often regarded as Finland's most famous architect. He not only used his talents to create beautiful buildings, but also to design interior features like furniture. Some of his most celebrated furniture pieces came from the Paimio Sanatorium, including its namesake chair designed for sitting tuberculosis patients. The building was considered the flagship of Finnish Functionalism.

Aalto invented a new form of laminated bent-plywood furniture, which he patented in 1933. The result of this unique method of bending birch wood is the "L-leg" that be can be found on many of his furniture forms. Perhaps the most notable example of this work is with his iconic Stool 60 design. The three-legged, stackable stool is still made with the same production method today by his founding company, Artek.

Born Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto in Kuortane, Finland, Alvar Aalto was noted

for his humanistic approach to modernism. He studied architecture at the

Helsinki University of Technology from 1916 to 1921, and returned to

Jyväskylä, where he opened his first architectural office in 1923.

The following year he married architect Aino Marsio, who would become

his partner both in life and work. Aalto's furniture design is easily

recognized by the unique method of bending wood he patented; most

famously, the stackable Stool 60 from Artek. Often called the "L-leg" as an

ode to its distinctive shape, it can be found on most of his furniture forms.

His most noteworthy glass piece is the Aalto Vase, though he wanted

to let the end user decide what, if anything, the object would hold. His fluid-lined design caused waves when iittala presented the vases at the Pair World Exhibition in 1937. Today, it's a househould essential for Finnish design fans and a popular choice as a wedding gift because of its timeless and enduring beauty.

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[Michael Grove]

 

... and here we are finally at long last about

    to welcome Finland to the NATO fold.