Alvar Aalto
The Father of Modern Scandinavian Architecture: Alvar Aalto
Although, he didn't design the most amazing buildings in history, Alvar Aalto surly deserved to be named ''The Father of Modern Scandinavian Architecture'' not because he is the greatest, but because one of the best of the earliest Scandinavian bioneers in the field of modern architecture.
He is among the first and most influential architects of Nordic modernism, but he had closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden such as Asplund and Sven Markelius.
These pioneers started off from a classical education and were the first to design what so-called Nordic Classic style before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism. Interestingly, many of his designs reveals traditionalism rooted in the cultural heritage and physical environment of Finland. That wasn't due to the fact that modernism was still in its infant stage, but rather to Aalto's understanding of the psychological needs of modern society. Studying his works, reveal that he understood and implied in his works the particular qualities of the Finnish environment. He understood the historical, technical, and cultural traditions of Scandinavian architecture. Without scarifying his attempts towards creating a new kind of modern architectural theory and work, he blended traditionalism because it's important, with modernism because it was the time for it.
Alvar Aalto was born in village of Kuortane, Finland. He studied architecture at the Helsinki Polytechnic in 1916from 1916 to 1921. He established his first architectural office in 1923. Aalto moved his office to Turku located on the southwest coast of Finland in 1927, and then started collaborating and making numerous contacts with architects. These contacts helped him in his development. For eample, His friendship with architect Erik Bryggman which was coupled with Turku's closeness to Sweden. Whereas associations with Asplund and Sven Markelius provided connections with the continental architectural avant-garde.
The office moved again in 1933, to Helsinki which was an important period of transition in his work. One of his reamatrkable works is his redesigning of the Viipuri Library which transformed the old library from pure traditionalism to a completely whole new modern building. Alvar Aalto died in 1976, in Helsinki.
Alvar Aalto Works
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