Notebook

Notebook, 1993-

PEOPLE

Alvar Aalto


Finnish architect, born in Kuortane, 1898; died in Helsinki, 1976. After studying at the Helsinki polytechnical school, in 1923 he opened his own firm and in 1925 married Aino Marsio, who became his most important collaborator until her death in 1949. He was a regular participant in the CIAM [Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne--international congresses of modern architecture]; his friends included such artists as Brancusi, Léger, Moholy-Nagy, Braque, and Calder. His architecture is characterized by extreme simplicity and by the use of wood, brick, and glass, as well as concrete. Scandinavia's greatest contemporary architect, Aalto was also an urbanist, sensitive to the psychological problems posed by cities, and a talented designer, to whom we are especially indebted for his chairs and other pieces of furniture. His major achievements include the Helsinki Cultural Center, 1955-1958, and the Maison Carré in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France, 1956-1959. [p. 848]


[Ferrier, Jean-Louis, Director and Yann le Pichon, Walter D. Glanze [English Translation]. Art of Our Century, The Chronicle of Western Art, 1900 to the Present. New York: Prentice-Hall Editions. 1988.]














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