Yrjö Ilmari Tapiovaara (September 7, 1914 – January 31, 1999) was a Finnish designer noted for his furnishings and textiles.

Education and work

In 1937 he graduated in interior design and in the following year worked for Asko. He would count Alvar Aalto as a strong influence. In World War II, Tapiovaara designed dugouts and field furniture to the Finnish Army, a challenging task given that only local wood and simple tools could be used, and no nails or screws were available. His own work gained attention for the Domus chairs. These came about while working with his wife at the Domus Academica from 1946 to 1947. The couple established their own office in 1951. In the following year he taught design at the

Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...

. After this he would do work in

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

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on behalf of a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

development program. Further in 1959 he received the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

's "Pro-Finlandia medal", and in 1964 a gold medal at the Milan Triennial XIII for his Polar cutlery. He did much of his work for universities, schools, and also did a "Root Table" for the Finnish army. Furniture designs based on his sketches continued to be produced into the twenty-first century.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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References

Literature

* Svenskberg, Aila (ed.): ''Ilmari Tapiovaara: Life and Design.'' Translated by Jüri Kokkonen. Helsinki: Designmuseo, 2014.

External links

Tapiovaara.fi
Finnish designers 1914 births 1999 deaths Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture alumni Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland {{designer-stub