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Alvar Aalto: The Father Of Modernism

By: Richard Guilfoyle

Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland in 1908, and he lived until 1976. He was a renowned Finnish architect and designer of furniture. His studies led him to architectural school in Helskini, where he graduated in 1921. However, his career did not begin well in Helskini, and so he moved on to a smaller town to start an office and begin his career.
To assist him, Alvar employed a young woman who designed glass and furniture and whom he later married. There were two children from this marriage. Aalto continued his design career in Finland, and created a number of renowned landmarks in the 20's and 30's. In the latter part of the 1940's, he taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among his most renowned furniture items are his highly esteemed tables and lighting fixtures.
Alvar Aalto, Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl started a company named Artek to design and build furniture. Tables, desks, side chairs, lounge chairs, stools, armchairs and children furniture in classic designs were designed by Alvar Aalto. He was a student at the University of Technology in Helsinki when he won a lighting competition in 1920 for his lamps. The lamps he designed are considered as modern today as the day in which he designed them. Aalto is still a highly regarded name in the world of lighting and lamps.
Alvar styled his first furnishings even prior to graduation. His innovative structural design office received a large contract for the design creation of furnishings for 6 houses of worship in Finland. In 1929 he styled the well-known Paimio Sanatorium in addition to all the furnishings and light fixtures for it. He styled tailor-made "Aalto tables" as well as additional furnishings for many of his structures.
Alvar Aalto was a very talented person. He designed his first furniture when he was in college only. He opened his office and was able to bag an order to design furniture for six churches of Finland. Widely known Paimio Sanatorium including its furniture and lamps was also designed by him. He designed particular table that became popular as Aalto tables. He designed complete furniture of all his office buildings.
Alvar Aalto named his approach "Organic Functionalism" and as the one who established Modernism within the nordic regions has left an important legacy on the realm of furniture motifs and structural design. Aalto and his spouse also created well-known glassware patterns like the appropriately titled Aalto Vase. It could be that his last tribute was the establishment of the Alvar Aalto Award by the Museum of Finnish Architecture as well as the Finnish Assoc. of Architects that is bestowed for important offerings to artistic structural design.
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Alvar Aalto's stamp on the world was not limited to furniture (möbler) design; he is remembered as much for his lamp models that have endured for over 80 years as for his classic tables, chairs, and children's furniture. Before he even graduated, Alvar Aalto began designing his first furniture.

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