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An intellectual biography that reconsiders the influence of Aalto's Finnish origins and explores geography as a dominant theme in the history of modern architecture



Perhaps no other great modern architect has been linked to a native country as closely as Alvar Aalto (1898-1976). Critics have argued that the essence of Finland flows, as if naturally, into his quasi-organic forms, ranging from such buildings as the Baker House in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to iconic 20th-century designs, including his Savoy vase and bent-plywood stacking stools.

What did Aalto himself say about the importance of nationalism and geography in his work and in architecture generally? With an unprecedented focus on the architect's own writings, library, and critical reception, Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen proposes a dramatically different interpretation of Aalto's oeuvre, revealing it as a deeply thoughtful response to his intellectual and cultural milieu--especially to Finland's dynamic political circumstances following independence from Russia in 1917.

Pelkonen also considers the geographic and geopolitical narratives found in his writings. These include ideas about national style and national cultural revival, and about how architecture can foster cosmopolitanism, internationalism, and regionalism. Expanding the canonical reading of Aalto, this work promises to influence future inquiries on Aalto for generations to come.

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CHOICE Review

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was one of the most talented, popular, and extensively accomplished architects of the 20th century. He designed widely significant and deeply influential buildings around the world--mainly in his home country of Finland but also in the United States, Italy, and France. Two major studies of his careers include Demetri Porphyrios's Sources of Modern Eclecticism (1982) and Goren Schildt's scholarly three-volume biography--Alvar Aalto (The Early Years, CH, Feb'85; The Decisive Years, 1986; and The Mature Years, CH, Oct'91, 29-0735). This full-length study by Pelkonen (Yale) is an extension of a PhD dissertation completed in 2003. The author explores Aalto's achievements richly and widely, and intellectually, politically, and socially, in relevant response to the deepest artistic and philosophical writings of the modern era, including those by Jurgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Siegfried Giedion, and Alfred Barr. She illuminates the variety of Aalto's achievements as an architect, designer, writer, artist, businessman, propagandist, and cosmopolite. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. P. Kaufman emeritus, Boston Architectural Center

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Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen is assistant professor and chair of the Master of Architectural Design Program at the School of Architecture at Yale University. She is the author of Achtung Architektur! Image and Phantasm in Contemporary Austrian Architecture and coeditor of Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future (Yale).