Book Elevator and Dormitory Wave: How One Love Story Changed the World of Design

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Once a girl who dreamed of making humanity happy came to the studio of a young but already renowned Finnish architect to work … This is how a love story began that literally changed the world. In the years when architects competed in minimalism and argued about the authorship of furniture made of steel pipes, and world powers tried to put designers at the service of ideology, Alvar and Aino Aalto created beauty and comfort …

Finland, of course, is not Scandinavia, but it turned out that it was the Finns who were the first to implement the ideas for which we value Scandinavian design so much. Subsequently, the famous Scandinavian designers unanimously insisted that it was Aalto who inspired them. They were, along with Frank Lloyd Wright, rare proponents of an organic style in architecture, although most architects aspired to functionalism - dry, rational, with white surfaces and tape glazing. In the world of glass skyscrapers, supporters of sensual, complex architecture, inscribed in the surrounding landscape, were almost “white crows.” Both of them, Alvar and Aino, were born in winter - the harsh Finnish winter. He was destined to outlive her for almost three decades. But while he is twenty-six, he is a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute in Helsingfors, he built a wooden house for his parents according to his project and opened his own studio. “Alvar Aalto, Architect and Monumental Artist,” reads the sign. It was here that Aino Marcio, a graduate of the Polytechnic Institute in Helsinki with a diploma in architecture, decided to look for a job, who was destined to become his wife, comrade-in-arms and co-author.

Their first major joint work was the construction and interiors of the Paimio tuberculosis sanatorium. In the 1930s, there was still a functionalist idea of "house - a car for living", which the Aalto couple did not particularly like, and in relation to such a project it sounded completely blasphemous. The Tuberculosis Sanatorium has become an organic design manifesto. Everything in it was aimed not at reducing the cost of construction and rational use of space, but at improving the mental and physical condition of people. There are pine trees around the sanatorium. The interior is filled with light - the windows are designed as large as possible. Spacious balconies allow sunbathing - Aino has designed special sun loungers for this purpose. The sanatorium even has a meditation hall - after all, the psychological attitude is important for recovery. No sharp corners or cold surfaces! Already there, Aalto began to use bent plywood and weaves, based on the techniques of traditional Finnish handicrafts. They worked there to the smallest detail, including the containers for collecting analyzes. Alwar believed that the building is not a "machine", but a work of art, in which every detail must be created through inspiration.

Aalto was also built in Russia. The construction of the library in Vyborg was fraught with a lot of difficulties - even the local residents were not enthusiastic and violently protested. However, in 1935, the library was opened to visitors - a sea of light, books that take an elevator to an open balcony, revolutionary forms and amazing acoustics … Alvar and Aino's own house combines modernism and a kind of fabulousness.

The couple, whose business was now called Artek (co-founded by Maire Gullichsen and her husband Harry), were honored at many exhibitions, biennials and triennials. Everyone was delighted with Aino's wave-like water-inspired services and Alvar's exquisitely designed stools and chairs. In 1937, Artek presented their work at the World Exhibition in Paris, in the Finnish pavilion, which they also designed and decorated. This exhibition was different from the previous ones - giant pavilions of world powers, colossal statues, huge coats of arms - an eagle with a swastika, a sickle and a hammer … And against the background of this battle of monsters, the pavilion, designed by Aalto, was an island of comfort. Aino attached great importance to the influence of nature on humans, and therefore there were living plants in the pavilion. Natural materials - Alvar especially loved birch, which reminded him of his native Finland, the smell of wood, simple, pleasant to the touch furniture … On the eve of World War II, Aalto's projects became the promise of a better world.

Other masterpieces include the Savoy restaurant and the Gullichsen family villa, whose support had a huge impact on Aalto's work. Aalto also worked in the United States, where in 1948 an unusual MIT student dormitory was built. At this institute, Alvar lectured. At first glance, the hostel looks very brutal - many floors, red brick … But its wavy shape suggests that the architect did not forget about his principles for a second. The building stretches along the river and organically fits into the landscape, and from its windows students could observe beautiful views.

In 1949, Aino died, she was not even fifty-five. Alvar returned to Finland. He soon found solace in his work and collaboration with the talented woman architect Elissa Mäkiniemi … They were married after three years of his widowhood. Like Le Corbusier, the late period of Alvar Aalto's work was in a sense titanic. Aalborg Museum of Contemporary Art, reminiscent of a ziggurat, Finlandia Palace with the outlines of a snow-capped mountain, Riola Church in Vergato with its fantastic vaults …

Alvar and Aino Aalto revolutionized design, bringing back to design its main addressee - man and trying to bridge the catastrophic gap between man and nature. Artek still exists today, and designers' projects continue to be reissued. Today, the firm's lawyers are concerned with protecting the heritage of the Aalto couple - for example, some IKEA products copy not only the form, but also the design and technology developed by Aalto. But - such is the fate of all the greats.