As we experience Finland and Helsinki we continue to catalog and document the plethora of details, nuances, and findings that cross our path. We hope to share these findings with you.
Here you have it, our first installment of an ongoing series:
Sights, Sounds, and Observations.
Enjoy, and please share your thoughts!
Aalto's signature plaque: Rovaniemi City Library
Aalto's signature plaque: Maison Aho
the "HANDSHAKE OF THE BUILDING" - Juhani Pallasmaa
Aalto: Maison Aho
Alvar Aalto Door Handle 1952-1957
The single door handle was originally designed for the National Pensions Institute in Helsinki. The double door handle was first designed for the Rautatalo (Iron House) office building located in Helsinki. Aalto’s handles could be stacked at varying levels to accommodate various heights.
Aalto: National Pensions Building
Aalto: National Pensions Building
Juhani Pallasmaa's handshake: Korundi Art Museum in Rovaniemi
Dipoli Center by Reima and Raili Pietilä
Arrak Architects
Typical Finnish National Romanticist Handle
Eliel Saarinen Handle (Late National Romanticist)
Eliel Saarinen Door
Aalto
Pilke Science Center, Rovaniemi
NATURAL LIGHT
Red reveal
Reflective Resonance
Highlighted Jugendstijl... also home to the office of Heikkinen-Komonen Architects
NATURAL LIGHTING
The skylight, from 3 vantage points, at the National Pensions Building by Alvar Aalto in Helsinki, Finland.
Aalto's Interior to the Stockman Bookstore
Main lobby to Aalto's Rautatalo
Juhani Pallasmaa's Korundi House of Culture, an old post bus depot- converted into a contemporary art museum.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING
Aalto
Aalto
Steven Holl (Kiasma)
Aalto
Aalto
Aalto
Aalto
Louis Poulse's Artichoke Lamp 1958
National Romantic Lamp
Jugendstijl
Aalto
Aalto, Rovaniemi Town Hall assembly room
INTERIOR SPACE
Bathroom of Hotel Torno... the tallest building in downtown Helsinki
Eliel Saarinen's cafe wing of the Helsinki Train Station... beautiful tail end of the Finnish National Romantic movement
"Trey Ceiling" of Aalto's cafeteria in the National Pensions Building
STAIRS
Saarinen apartment building. Finnish National Romanticism
Stair detail of Holl's Kiasma Museum: Notice the subtle relief on the underside? It is a very cleverly placed conduit that simply looks like a well designed reveal in the form work.
Lasipalatsi, or Bio Rex Center - Viljo Revell, Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko
Stair rail detail, Pilke Wood Museum
Banister under-light detail, Pilke Wood Museum
Treads, Juhani Pallasmaa, Korundi Art Gallery
DETAILS
Dog gate sequence, private residence, Rovaniemi
Pull out desk, Aalto Auditorium, Aalto University
National Romanticist carving... Aalto-esque waves
A nice little nibble of Finnish National Romanticism
Birch Bark Panel Siding - Pilke Wood Museum
Detail of Birch Bark Panel Siding - Pilke Wood Museum
Wood block parquet - Pilke Wood Museum
Brick work - Juhani Pallasmaa in Rovaniemi
Horizontal Standing Seam Cladding - Rovaniemi Airport, Heikkinen-Komonen Architects
FURNITURE
Alvar Aalto's living room... this was supposedly the chair he always sat on, and loved the most.
Aalto coffee table
Aalto's TEA TROLLEY 900 from 1937
OBSERVATIONS
Going nowhere fast
Lots of snow
Take a seat.
Display hangers for art work, Aalto's Town Hall, Rovaniemi
Portrait of Alvar Aalto in the Aalto Home|Studio... a gift from Alexander Calder
Composite model + section at the MFA - Museum of Finnish Architecture
Fantastic wine holsters for cocktail hour... now you can eat, drink, and still shake hands!
Engel + Ehrenstrom, Neo-classical architects of Helsinki's iconic Senate Square + Cathedral
Shattered ice... its getting warmer here, but its still cold.
The last video is a wonderful sequence of the door-less elevators in Aalto's National Pensions Building... running at a continuous loop, you hop on and off, and only the employees of the building are allowed to use. We, who managed to get the In with our tourguide, managed to ride it as well. Great idea, but this thing is no joke, if you tripped, it could literally cut you in half! Don't try designing this in the US!
We hope you enjoyed!
This work by A.D.Morley & J.A.Wong is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
A new adventure begins as we finish one chapter; we hope to share our story with you. We are current graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.
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