Alvar Aalto

Jari Jetsonen

Markku Lahti

During the course of a career spanning over 50 years, Alvar Aalto designed nearly 100 single-family houses. Many of them are architectural gems, where his thoughts about dwelling and architecture come together. Aalto considered experimental building to be very important: in his opinion, there should always be an opportunity for experimentation in every project, for it is only in that way that architecture can be promoted and quality improved for the good of the 'little man'. It was specifically in the designing of single-family houses that Aalto could realize new ideas. Aalto's single-family houses can be divided into three groups: houses for individuals, the client of which was nearly always a relative or friend; houses designed for industrial institutions or other communities; and type- or standard houses. All the houses presented in Alvar Aalto Houses were originally designed for private clients. The book presents eight single-family houses by Aalto from 1920s to the end of the 1960s, built in Finland, Estonia and France. Book jacket.

Alvar Aalto Houses

Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen

Alvar Aalto was concerned about the social aspect in all building. This was particularly evident in his residential architecture: and this already early in his career involved creating innovative solutions. One such innovation was a stair-less house type, closely set on ground level, and where the advantages of both multistorey housing and the immediate connection to nature are brought together. At the same time, he developed in his apartment block and student dormitory designs a balance between communal and private spaces, what one could call the "city and the streets" inside the building. Alvar Aalto Apartments opens views into Aalto's ideals about dwelling. The internal organisation of an apartment, the relationship of the home to the outside world, the movement from one space to another and the "city on the hill" were all issues of importance in Aalto's deliberations, as he tried to solve the problematics of dwelling. The book presents ten apartment blocks and two student dormitories by Aalto built in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and the United States, from the 1920s to the end of the 1960s.

Markku Lahti

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