Alvar Aalto (1898–1966) had a very successful and diverse career as an architect and designer, both domestically in Finland and internationally.
Aalto established his first architectural firm in Jyväskylä in 1921 after receiving his degree in architecture from Helsinki Institute of Technology (later Helsinki University of Technology, now a division of Aalto University). His early works adhered to the principles of Nordic Classicism, which was the vogue at the time. He and his wife Aino Marsio, who was also an architect, traveled to Europe frequently in the late 1920s and early 1930s and were familiar with the International Style, which was the most recent Modernist movement.
For numerous years, Aalto’s work was purely functionalist. In large part due of Paimio Sanatorium (1929–1933), an important Functionalist turning point, it allowed him to achieve international success. In his architecture, Aalto included the principles of a user-friendly, practical design. From the late 1930s onward, the use of organic shapes, natural materials, and growing freedom in the use of space expanded the architectural expression of Aalto’s structures.
Aalto was known for treating each building as a full work of art, down to the furnishings and lighting fixtures. Artek was established in 1935 to support the expanding manufacturing and sales of Aalto furniture. His furniture was designed with functionality, beauty, and mass production in mind, adhering to the core Artek principle of promoting a more attractive way of life at home. In terms of design, Aalto was motivated by a fascination with glass because it offered a chance to work with the material in a novel way employing free forms. His victory in the 1936 Karhula-Iittala glassware design contest resulted in the creation of the renowned Savoy vase.
Beginning in the 1950s, Aalto’s architectural firm focused mostly on designing public structures, including the Säynätsalo Town Hall (1948–1952), the Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics, which is now the University of Jyväskylä (1951–1957), and the Helsinki House of Culture (1952-1956). The most prominent projects that were built were the Seinäjoki Civic Center (1956-1965/87), Rovaniemi City Center (1963-1976/88), and the partially completed Jyväskylä Administrative and Cultural Center. His urban design master plans reflect larger projects than the structures described above (1970-1982).
Alvar Aalto’s work began to concentrate more on nations outside of Finland in the early 1950s, and as a result, many private and public structures were constructed to his ideas abroad.