Faculty of Arts & Science

Visual and Critical Studies

Angelina Campigotto

Disenchanting Modernist Myth: Alvar Aalto’s Regional Consciousness of Materiality and Site

This essay considers the validity of "architectural universality" by counterposing the architecture of Alvar Aalto (Finland) with characteristics from master architect Le Corbusier (Switzerland-France) for History of Modern Architecture with Dr. Eric Nay (Fall semester 2020)... later in 2022, I travelled to Finland and saw Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto's architecture mentioned in this paper. I took the images to the right at Aalto's home in Munkkiniemi (1936) and Helsinki Central Station (1919) in Finland.

“Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was a Finnish architect known for utilizing local materials, his site conscientiousness, and his reimagined Modern distillation of classicism. Compared with Le Corbusier’s (1887-1965) “mastered” tendencies, Aalto's architecture demonstrates the failings of the myth of architectural universality. The precedent set by Corbusier’s accumulative masterworks would soon become an afterthought as local traditions and concerns became foremost addressed as evident in Aalto’s constructions at Villa Mairea (1938-41), the Town Hall at Säynätsalo (1949-52), and Helsinki University (1946-66).”