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Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (February 3, 1898 - May
11, 1976) was a Finland|Finnish architect and
designer.

He was a Scandinavia|Scandinavian modernist
designer, noted for his humanistic approach to
modernism.  His work includes architecture,
furniture, and glassware.  He was one of the first
and most influential architects of the
Scandinavia|Scandinavian modern movement, and a
member of the Congres Internationaux
d'Architecture Moderne. Major works include the
Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland, and the
campus of Helsinki University of Technology. 
Aalto's glassware includes the world-famous Aalto
Vase. 

== Life and Works ==

Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland.  He
studied architecture at the Helsinki University of
Technology from 1916 to 1921.  He returned to
Jyväskylä, where he opened his first
architectural office in 1923. The following year
he married architect Aino Marsio. Their honeymoon
journey to Italy sealed an intellectual bond with
the culture of the Mediterranean region that was
to remain important to Aalto for the rest of his
life.

Aalto's wide field of activity ranged from
furniture and glassware designs to architecture
and painting. His vase designs are world-famous. 
Aalto furniture is manufactured by Artek
(company)|Artek, a company Aalto co-founded. 
Aalto glassware (Aino as well as Alvar) is
manufactured by iittala.



=== Significant buildings ===

* 1921 - 1923: Bell tower, Kauhajärvi, Finland
* 1924 - 1928: Municipal hospital, Alajärvi,
Finland
* 1926 - 1929: Defence Corps Building,
Jyväskylä, Finland
* 1927: Töölö church, Helsinki, Finland
* 1927: Viipuri library (new drawings, 1928, 1929,
1933, built according to last drawings 1934 -
1935)
* 1928 - 1929, 1930: Turun Sanomat newspaper
offices, Turku, Finland
* 1928 - 1929: Tuberculosis sanatorium and staff
housing, Paimio, Finland
* 1931: Central University Hospital, Zagreb,
Croatia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia|former Yugoslavia)
* 1933 - 1935: Municipal library, Vyborg, Russia
* 1934: Corso theatre, restaurant interior,
Zürich, Switzerland
* 1939: Finnish Pavilion, 1939 World's Fair
* 1947 - 1948: Baker House, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
* 1949 - 1966: Helsinki University of Technology,
Espoo, Finland
* 1952 - 1958: House of Culture, Helsinki, Finland
* 1958 - 1987: Town centre, Seinäjoki, Finland
* 1958 - 1972: North Jutland Art Museum, Aalborg,
Denmark
* ?? - 1965: Regional Library of Lapland,
Rovaniemi, Finland
* 1962 - 1971: Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland
* 1963 - 1965: Building for Westmannia-Dalecarlia
Nation, Uppsala, Sweden
* 1962: Central-Building of the Satellite-city
"Neue Vahr", Bremen, Germany
* 1970: Mount Angel Abbey Library, Mount Angel,
Oregon

== External links ==
Commons|Alvar Aalto
=== Archives ===
* http://www.alvaraalto.fi/ Alvar Aalto Foundation
Custodian of Aalto's architectural drawings and
writings.
*
http://janus.uoregon.edu/search/a?searchtype=X&sea
rcharg=alvar+aalto University of Oregon  Aalto
collection

=== Catalogs ===
* http://www.artek.fi artek Aalto furniture;
company founded by Aalto.
*
http://www.iittala.com/designor/web/iittalawww.nsf
/pages/8F0DB998A9F836DDC2256BE40031B835!OpenDocume
nt&Expand=8&PRODSUB Alvar Aalto glassware  iittala
* http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/1998/aalto/
Between Humanism and Materialism New York Museum
of Modern Art exhibit site.  Contains an
especially useful timeline of his life and career.

=== Buildings ===
* http://www.mtangel.edu/library/photos/photos.htm
Mt. Angel Abbey Library
*
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/aalto/aalto.htm
l Baker House
*
http://www.nordjyllandskunstmuseum.dk/bygning/bygn
ingen_main_eng.htm North Jutland Museum

== References ==

=== Göran Schildt ===

Göran Schildt has written and edited many books
on Aalto.

* Aalto, Alvar.  The Architectural Drawings of
Alvar Aalto, 1917-1939, in eleven volumes. 
Prepared by the Alvar Aalto Archive in
collaboration with the Museum of Finnish
Architecture, Helsinki, and the Alvar Aalto
Museum, Jyväskylä; with introduction and project
descriptions by Göran Schildt.  New York, Garland
Pub., 1994.

* Aalto, Alvar.  Alvar Aalto in His Own Words. 
Schildt, Göran, (Ed.)  Rizzoli, New York, 1998.

* Schildt, Göran.  Alvar Aalto: the complete
catalogue of architecture, design, and art. 
Timothy Binham, English translator.  Rizzoli, New
York, 1994.

=== Other authors ===
* Reed, Peter (Ed.)  Alvar Aalto: between humanism
and materialism.  Museum of Modern Art/H.N.
Abrams.  New York, 1998.

=== Research notes ===

* Aalto is famous and books have been written on
many of his designs.  They are also documented in
the various architectural magazines.

* One of the most extensive collections of
references on Alvar Aalto in the USA can be found
at the University of Oregon.