Alvar Aalto
In Kuortane, a municipality in south-west Finland, Alvar Aalto was born on 3 February 1898. At the age of 18, he moved to a city no less than 346 kilometres away: Helsinki. Here he began his studies in architecture, which he completed in 1921.
That Aalto was very talented was shown by his success; two years after graduating, he founded his own firm in Jyväskylä. The architect Aino Marsio was hired by Aalto to come and work for him, and the spark struck between the two. A year later, in 1924, Alvar and Aino married each other. They took a beautiful honeymoon to Italy through the Mediterranean. This is where Aalto drew a lot of inspiration from, so it has always influenced his designs.
A red line through Aalto's work is functionalism. Examples include spaces that flow into each other and curved walls. Well-known works by Aalto include Finlandia Hall and the campus of the former Technical University, both in Helsinki. Since 2010, this university has been called Aalto University. In collaboration with Finnish brand Iittala, Aalto designed the world-famous Aalto vase. In 1937, it was first shown to the public at the World Fair in Paris. Anno today, Iittala Alvar Aalto vases are still mouth-blown.
