Hubert

Austria - 24-Nov-22 -

Alvar Aalto was kind enough to build his most important works in Finland close to World Heritage Sites or along the route between two inscribed sites. Very prescient of him. So I could easily include all thirteen locations of this TWHS in my round trip through Southern and Central Finland. I visited Finland in early June 2022 and almost all Aalto sites that are open to the public already offered tours. Unfortunately, Villa Mairea was still closed (tours were only available from the third week of June).

Five locations in Helsinki
The Aalto buildings in Helsinki are scattered north and northwest of the city centre and are all easily accessible by public transport, bus and tram.
Aalto House and Studio Aalto are close to each other in the neighborhood of Munkkiniemi. Both are early works from the 1930s, the interiors can only be visited with guided tours, pre-booking is recommended, via the Aalto Museum website. However, I would only recommend a visit for fans of modern architecture or WH enthusiasts who aim for completeness. The admission fees are quite steep: 30 euros (house) and 20 euros (studio). The tour of the Aalto House was a good introduction to Aalto's life and work, original furniture and design objects are on display, but it doesn't have much else to offer. And there is not much to see in the Studio either. Most striking here is the courtyard, a small amphitheatre-like space. But you can also visit this without a guided tour, the property should be accessible during opening hours (tours usually in the afternoon).
The Social Insurance Institution Main Office is considered the best example of an Aalto office building. It is still in use for its original purpose, usually a sign of quality. I liked the red brick façade, but the office complex is not open to the public, so it is hard to assess whether it deserves to be part of the nomination.
The House of Culture, or Kulttuuritalo in Finnish, also dates from Aalto's "red brick period" in the early 1950s. The curved and asymmetrical building was my favourite of the five Aalto buildings in Helsinki. Today it is a popular concert venue and is actually only open for events. But I was lucky. When I arrived in the afternoon, there was a rehearsal for a young talent competition in classical music, and I was able to look around the foyer and the concert hall.
And finally the Finlandia Hall, currently under scaffolding and closed for renovation (until 2024). I visited it a few years ago when the social event of a scientific congress was held there. Although it is one of Helsinki's landmarks, I would not rank Finlandia Hall among Aalto's best works. And this is also true for the other four sites in Helsinki.
I visited these five Aalto sites on one sunny day in June and walked most of the way. This allowed me to see more nice examples of 20th century and contemporary architecture: Central Station, Oodi Library, Olympic Stadium or Temppeliaukio Church, just to name a few.

The Paimio Sanatorium is certainly Aalto's most famous building.  Its distinctive layout consisting of four connected wings and the remote location in a pine forest were innovative in the 1930s. At that time, it was believed that the right architecture, sunlight and fresh air, would contribute to the recovery of tuberculosis patients. Today, we know that only antibiotic therapy can heal the disease. But at least Aalto proved with his sanatorium that healthcare buildings can also be aesthetically pleasing. Aalto also designed the interior down to the last detail: furniture, door handles and bathroom fittings, and also the lighting and the colour scheme. The most striking features are the bright yellow corridors and stairs and the petrol blue doors. Guided tours (90 or 60 minutes) are in Finnish only (information material in English is available). At the end of the tour, you can visit the permanent exhibition in former patient rooms. Highly recommended, and it also offers explanations in English. Tours can be pre-booked online here.

Villa Mairea is another masterpiece and an example of a luxurious one-family home. It is often mentioned in a row with Villa Savoye (Le Corbusier), Tugendhat (Mies van der Rohe) and Fallingwater (Frank Lloyd Wright). Unfortunately, the villa was closed when I visited, so I could only see it from the outside and look around the courtyard. The exterior looks promising. And I would trust Juha that the interior is also impressive and that Villa Mairea would be a worthy WHS.

Seinäjoki Civic Centre consists of six cultural and administrative buildings grouped around a central square. Most striking are the church and the blue-tiled town hall. It is an example of a planned civic centre, but it took a decade to complete. Actually more, because the theatre was only built in the 1980s, two decades after Aalto's death. To me, the ensemble didn't appear very harmonious and I'm not sure if it should be part of a nomination.

In and around Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is Aalto's hometown. His career as an architect began here, the Aalto Museum (closed for renovation until the end of 2023) is located here, and you will find many of his buildings here, mainly from his early years. And the most important of these are listed in the TWHS entry.
The University of Jyväskylä is of great importance to the city, and Aalto's university buildings add to its reputation. The Aalto Campus comprises faculty and administrative buildings, the refectory, a hall of residence, sports halls and an indoor swimming pool. Aalto won an architectural competition in 1951 and the buildings were realised according to his plans over a period of two decades. Aalto's architecture blends in well with older buildings of the university. For me, it is a better example of a building ensemble than Seinäjoki. I would recommend visiting during the semester when the buildings are open.
About 15 kilometres to the south is the Säynätsalo Town Hall (upper photo), one of Aalto's most important works. The four wings and the tower-like main building are grouped around a rectangular courtyard, all in red-brick design. The building reminded me of a castle. This impression is enhanced by the fact that the ground floor and the courtyard are higher than the street level. You can book a guided tour, which basically consists of an introductory film, some explanations by the guide and the visit to the Council Chamber at the top of the tower structure. They also offer accommodation. I stayed one night in the Elissa guest room, which is a normal room with no special design.
Another five kilometres south is the Experimental House on Muuratsalo Island, built as a summer home for Aalto and his wife Elissa. It is not visible from the road, you have to take a guided tour. The inner courtyard and the façade there are a mosaic of different patterns and shapes, red bricks and colourful tiles. Aalto played with materials and design. But the best is the beautiful location on the shore of Lake Päijänne, including a separate sauna directly on the shore (well, we are in Finland).

The Church of Three Crosses in Vuoksenniska (lower photo) is the most remote Aalto site, close to the border with Russia. But it is only a one-hour detour (by car) on the route from Oravi (Lake Saimaa TWHS) to the Verla Mill. It is considered Aalto's most exceptional and innovative church design. I would agree. The building has an asymmetrical curvilinear shape. The interior, all in white, is divided into three irregularly vaulted spaces, the largest is the altar room with the eponymous three crosses.

And finally, the Sunila Pulp Mill Housing Area, about 130 kilometres east of Helsinki. The residential area was built for the workers of the pulp mill. It has similarities with parts of the Berlin Modernist Housing Estates. The pulp mill is still in operation and not open to the public. Apparently only the residential buildings are part of the nomination.

Outside Finland, Alvar Aalto is better known as a designer than as an architect. But the best of his works prove that both go hand in hand, a sharp distinction is not possible. In any case, Aalto is an important representative of modern architecture. My visit to the Aalto sites convinced me that a selection of his works deserves to be inscribed in the World Heritage List.
However, I doubt whether the nomination will be submitted in its present form. Thirteen sites in Finland are to many.  For me, the highlights are Paimio Sanatorium, Church of Three Crosses, and Villa Mairea, closely followed by Aalto Campus in Jyväskylä and Säynätsalo Town Hall. These five sites are sufficient to represent the Finnish part, in my opinion. But I am quite sure that it will be a transnational approach. The T-list entry mentiones the Vyborg Library (Russia), the Baker House (MIT, USA) and the Wolfsburg Cultural Centre (Germany). But there are more buildings in Germany, France, Italy, Denmark. Maybe it will be a nomination similar to the one for Le Corbusier. So still a long way to go.

Els Slots

The Netherlands - 07-Jul-13 -

Paimio Sanatorium is located a few kilometers outside the town of Paimio, within reach of a day trip from Helsinki due to the highway that connects the Finnish capital with Turku. The complex is signposted in Finnish only - look for 'Paimio Sairaala'. I had hoped to find a fine lunch spot in Paimio itself, but the center is quite desolate (despite having an interesting old church).

So I arrived at the Sanatorium an hour before the daily afternoon tour started. No problem, as I was able to admire the buildings from the outside and enjoy the sun from one of the benches in the park. I visited on a Sunday afternoon, and all was very quiet. Some of the buildings are used for different purposes nowadays, and the main building has lost almost all its hospital functions. The guide brought the keys to enter, and the 6 of us who had showed up for the tour were the only ones in the building. Later this year, a wing of the building will be rented out to a NGO that supports 'Children in Need'.

The tour lasts an hour, and shows some of the peculiar features of the design of the main building. Yellow paint was used to imitate the sunlight, round corners as they are easier to clean. The windows are often enormous, so there's a lot of natural light and pleasant views of the surrounding pine forest. Some of the rooms have original furniture too, designed by Aalto and his wife. There's a lot to tell - have a look at my Dutch website for an extensive trip report and more photos.

I really enjoyed my visit, but will this ever become a WHS? Its nomination was withdrawn in 2007 by Finland, after a deferral was advised by ICOMOS. One of the issues was the dilemma whether the nomination should focus on the architecture of Aalto, or on the social history of tuberculosis sanatoria. The Dutch T-List coincidentally includes two similar sites: Sanatorium Zonnestraal and the Van Nelle Factory. The latter is up for debate at the WHC meeting of 2014, and it will be interesting to see how far individual modernist monuments can come.