The Studio Aalto is a house in the Tiilimäki neighbourhood of

Munkkiniemi Munkkiniemi ( sv, Munksnäs, Helsinki slang: ''Munkka'') is a neighbourhood in Helsinki. Subdivisions within the district are Vanha Munkkiniemi, Kuusisaari, Lehtisaari, Munkkivuori, Niemenmäki and Talinranta. The land in Munkkiniemi was from the ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, which

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

designed during 1955–56 to be the studio of his architect bureau. Due to a large number of commissions, the office needed more space in which to work. The studio is said to be one of his best buildings from the 1950s. Near the studio there is also Villa Aalto, the home (and previous office) of the Aaltos. Both the studio and the Villa are now part of the

Alvar Aalto Museum The Alvar Aalto Museum is a Finnish museum operating in two cities, Jyväskylä and Helsinki, in two locations each, dedicated to architect and designer Alvar Aalto. All four locations are open to the public. They are: *The Alvar Aalto Museum i ...

, and they are open to the public. The Alvar Aalto Academy and Alvar Aalto Museum Architectural Heritage Department are housed in Studio Aalto.

Architecture

The building is designed to be used as an architect's office. It is not a conventional office building. Aalto is reported to have said that “architectural art can not be created in an office-like environment.” The façade is built in plain style, in white-painted, lightly rendered brickwork. The closed-in mass of the building conceals a garden shaped like an amphitheatre in its inner courtyard. The slender mass of the office wing is in white-painted, lightly rendered brickwork. From the working space upstairs, large windows give a view to both east and west. Studio Aalto

An extension was built in 1963, with a kitchen and a dining space. These two were referred to as “the taverna”. In the courtyard there is an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

-like small space, the steps being built out of natural slate. Alvar Aalto ran the office until his death in 1976. After that, the office continued under the leadership of Elissa Aalto until 1994. The building came into the custodianship of the Alvar Aalto Foundation in 1984 and today it houses the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the Alvar Aalto Academy and the Alvar Aalto Museum Architectural Heritage.

References

External links

Studio Aalto on the Alvar Aalto Foundation website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1936 Alvar Aalto buildings Alvar Aalto Museum Buildings and structures in Helsinki Culture in Helsinki Landmarks in Finland Modernist architecture in Finland Tourist attractions in Helsinki Munkkiniemi