He was a native of Finland and spent most of his career there.
Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Jyvaskyla, which became Alvar Aalto’s home town.
Aalto studied at the Helsinki Technical University and in 1938 went to the USA, where he taught at MIT and the Cambridge College of Architecture in Massachusetts. After World War 11 he returned in Finland and carried on an international practice.
His typically Scandinavian buildings include the Viipuri library (1927-35), the Paimio convalescent home (1929-33), the town hall at Saynatsalo (1951), and the Finlandia Concert Hall in Helsinki (1971), his last building.
Aalto’s design for the Tuberculosis Sanatorium (1929-33) at Paimio brought him international acclaim both for its overall planning and its attention to detail.
Outside Scandinavia his important buildings include the MIT hall of residence (1947) and the Maison Carre near Paris (1956-58), which he finished with his own bentwood furniture, which he had first designed in 1932.
Aalto was one of the first and most influential architects of the modern movement in Scandinavia. He was a member of CIAM (Congres Internationaux d’Architecture Moderns).
Finnish Architect Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898-1976)
