Location: Finland

Aerola Terraced Houses in Vantaa

When Finland was selected to host the 1952 Summer Olympics, it also contributed to the construction of the current Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Scheduled air traffic in Finland had also grown rapidly at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s. Malmi Airport, which had been completed in 1936, was no longer able to meet the growing demand, and a decision was taken to build a new airport. The Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (1952) was completed just a little over a month before the start of the Olympics, and soon afterwards Alvar Aalto’s Architect Office was commissioned to design employment housing for the staff of Finnair’s predecessor Aero Oy in proximity to the new airport.

In early drafts from 1952, the terraced houses of Aerola were originally placed right next to the brand new airport. Later, in 1953, the site for the new residential area was relocated to its current location, a little further from the airport. Aerola’s terraced house complex consists of two identical 2-storey terraced houses stepping on a slope, each comprising 20 apartments of different sizes.

Entrances open on both sides: the west side gives access to the studios and one three-room apartment located on the south end of the building, while the three-room and one four-room apartments, which develop on two floors, have entrances on the east side. Each apartment has an independent entrance fronting onto a small courtyard area. The garages are located at the end of the buildings, and the basements include separate storage rooms for all of the dwellings. In the middle of the plot, between the two rows of houses, stands an L-shaped building that houses the sauna, laundry room and heating centre.

This whitewashed building complex was constructed between 1953-55, originally planned as part of a larger entity, which also included four apartment buildings and a few detached houses. After the first phase consisting of the terraced houses and the sauna and laundry building, however, the project was not developed further, and a vocational school was later built on the site.

Aerola’s terraced houses complex is an important historical entity within the city of Vantaa. In order to protect it, the city even altered an originally approved redevelopment plan in 2008. In addition, some elements of the interiors of the apartments are also protected by law. The year 2018 saw the beginning of renovation works in Aerola under plans made by the architectural firm A-Konsultit in connection with the Vantaa City Museum and the Alvar Aalto Foundation. Renovation of the first terraced house was completed in the spring of 2020 and renovations of the second house have since begun.

Lappia Hall in Rovaniemi

Lappia Hall is part of the Rovaniemi administrative and cultural center, the Aalto Center, designed by Alvar Aalto. The building is a well-known landmark of Rovaniemi. Lappia Hall was built in two parts. The first part, including the music school, was completed in 1972, and the main part of the building used by the theater in 1975. Lappia Hall was the last building that Alvar Aalto saw completed before his death.

The undulating roof structure of the building resembles the fell landscape of Lapland. The curved shapes of the roof are illuminated in different colors, and in its evening outfit Lappia Hall is a particularly magnificent sight. Lappia Hall is a total work of art characteristic of the Aaltos. Aalto’s office designed not only the building but also the interior and furniture. From the outside, the building is finished with light rod-shaped ceramic tiles.

The floor surfaces of the interior of the building are covered with Lapland marble and the interior walls are decorated with dark shiny cobalt rod-shaped ceramic tiles. The unique architecture of Lappia Hall is specially designed for the use of cultural actors. The Rovaniemi Theatre / Lapland Regional Theatre, the Lapland Music and Dance Institute and the Rovaniemi School of Visual Arts currently operate in the building. Over the years, Lapland’s regional radio and Lapland’s regional museum have also operated there. The comprehensive renovation of the building was completed in 2015.

Rovaniemi City Library

The library building, which was completed in 1965, was the first of the Rovaniemi administrative and cultural center buildings.

The Rovaniemi library consists of two connected parts: a fan-shaped library hall and an elongated, rectangular office wing. The interior design of the library followed the idea typical of Aalto’s libraries, where the library’s reading rooms were placed on a lower level than the rest of the library hall, in their own recesses. The goal of the hall’s fan-like shape is to enable the staff to have an unobstructed view of the entire hall. In addition to the library hall, the building contains, among other things, a music library, magazine rooms, an exhibition and auditorium hall, and a children’s section.

Natural light and lighting played an important role in the library’s plans. Indirect natural light is brought into the premises by various upper and roof windows and an exceptionally wide variety of fixed special lamps. This creates a great atmosphere in the building in the changing northern light, from dark winters to nightless nights in summer. Some of the furniture and lighting in the library are Artek’s standard models, but Aalto’s office also designed special furniture and at least 10 different lighting models for the building.

The Rovaniemi library is closed for the time being due to renovations that are scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.

Kinkamon Aalto in Varkaus

Kinkamo is the first building that Alvar Aalto designed in Varkaus. Kinkamo was designed to be a weekend cabin in Kopolanniemi for the workers of the A. Ahlström factory. Kinkamo is a good example of Aalto’s efforts to adapt the building to its natural surroundings: it is located on a lake shore at the edge of the forest and it is not visible from the opposite shore, or from passing boats. The Warkaus Factory club-association approved the construction of Kinkamo during a general meeting held on May 12th, in 1937. The name Kinkamo was the result of a name competition organized in 1939.

Kinkamo is a joint project of Alvar and Aino Aalto: Alvar Aalto was commissioned a plan for the building in 1937, while the interiors were designed by Aino Aalto. The long building has a spacious veranda with a roof supported by sloping columns, a large open living area with a fireplace, and a separate sleeping wing. It also has a kitchen, drying room and a room for the housekeeper. The building’s horizontal line is emphasized by the horizontal timber cladding and narrow horizontal windows in the sleeping wing.

While designing Kinkamo, the architect couple played with historical motifs in an unusual manner. The originally open sleeping alcoves, furnished with built-in bunk beds, recalled a traditional Finnish rural style. The large dining table and separate chairs inside the dining hall, as well as the light fixtures, combine functionalism with medieval impressions in a unique way. The perforated decoration on the curved backrest of the dining chairs is also a practicality: it makes it easier to grab and move the chair. The medieval reference of the furniture conceived for Kinkamo is most clearly evident in one specific chair model: a high-backrest throne chair with four-leaved clover shapes pierced at the top of the backrest and a crown in the middle. Above the dining table is a straight five-lamp chandelier that repeats the motifs of the dining chairs.

Kinkamo is also equipped with a sauna: until 1976 in a structure re-adapted from a modular house designed by architect Kristian Gullichsen, which was then replaced with a sauna designed by architect Seppo Mykrä. The Warkaus Factory Club sold Kinkamo to A. Ahlström Oy in 1953, with the selling price being paid to the Varkaus branch of the General Mannerheim League for child welfare. In 1994, Kinkamo was transferred to Enso Gutzeit Oy, to be used for representation purposes. In the spring of 2019, Kinkamo was bought by Jukka Leväinen, a civil engineering entrepreneur from Varkaus, who then founded the company Kinkamon Aalto, which provides event and conference services.

Seaside museums – Architecture, art and home museums by the sea!

A self-guided museum tour around the Laajalahti bay, outside the usual tourist routes, reveals seven unique museum sites that can be experienced together or separately. In addition to the scenic surroundings, the sites are united under interesting architecture and the fact that they have originally been homes and / or workspaces. The Didrichsen Art Museum, Villa Gyllenberg and Gallen-Kallela museums also feature significant art collections and changing exhibitions.

In Alvar Aalto’s home and office building in Munkkiniemi you can take part in guided tours all year round. Aficionados of architecture and design will get an insight into the interesting life of the Aalto family and everyday life of architects’ office. During the visit, you can also explore the beautiful gardens surrounding the buildings.

On a guided tour in Tamminiemi you will learn about the house’s most famous and longest-lived inhabitant: president Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986), and discover the original interiors and design from the 1970s. Tamminiemi’s legendary tar-smelling, seaside sauna can also be visited during the summer season.

The nearby Seurasaari open-air museum comes alive in the summer. The beautiful and fascinating traditional Finnish buildings, immersed into the magnificent natural setting of the island, constitute a favourite destination for both Helsinki locals and travellers around.

There are as many as two high-quality art museums on the small Kuusisaari island. The Didrichsen Art Museum has 2-3 changing exhibitions each year. The neighbouring Villa Gyllenberg features museum’s permanent collection which includes, amongst other masterpieces, 38 works by Helene Schjerfbeck. In addition, the museum also organises changing exhibitions. On Saturdays during the summer, Kuusisaari can be reached also by water bus running between Market Square in the city centre and Kuusisaari.

The northern shore of Laajalahti bay also offers exciting museum experiences, as well as a pleasant museum café where visitors can spend a relaxing moment. The Gallen-Kallela Museum, located in a castle-like villa designed by artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela, presents the art and life of Gallen-Kallela and his contemporaries with changing exhibitions, as well as exhibitions of contemporary art. From April you can also cycle to the museum on a city bike.

Experience Alvar Aalto’s architecture in Jyväskylä

Experience Alvar Aalto’s legacy in the city known as the “Alvar Aalto capital of the world,” Jyväskylä. This unique tour immerses you in a cityscape that showcases the most comprehensive collection of Aalto’s work, spanning every phase of his career.

Discover Aalto’s architectural masterpieces, where modernist design meets everyday life. On this journey, you’ll do more than just see architecture; you’ll live it. Sleep, dine, and even relax by the water, all within spaces crafted by Aalto’s hand.

Jyväskylä is where Aalto’s story began: he opened his first architectural office here, started a family, and created his nearby summer retreat. It is also home to the world’s only Alvar Aalto Museum, housed in a building he designed himself.

Throughout the tour, witness the evolution of Aalto’s style—from his early classicism, through the warmth of his red-brick period, to the crisp lines of his monumental white structures.

Aalto masterpieces at the Ahlström’s Noormarkku and Kauttua Works

Get to discover the collaboration between Ahlström Ironworks and Alvar Aalto, which resulted in these architectural masterpieces surrounded by pine forests. These buildings receive visitors from every corner of the world!

Get to learn about architecture and lifestyle in the Ahlström’s Works sites designed by Alvar Aalto. In Noormarkku you will get acquainted with the sophisticated Villa Mairea, while in Kauttua you will explore the Terraced House and the Riverside sauna.

Human scale and a healthy lifestyle are an integral part of the architecture of the Kauttua Works area. Here, the visitor is presented with a diverse selection of architectural designs by Aalto. You can start your tour at the famous Terraced House, where you can explore an apartment furnished with Artek interiors. On a guided walking tour, you will also visit the Riverside sauna: the location of the public sauna and laundry for the Ahlström workers, designed jointly by Aino and Alvar Aalto. All around, you will spot several other architectures by Aalto, including the civil servants’ residence and standard housing on the Varkaudenmäki hill.

The visit to the Terraced House also offers the possibility to purchase the vintage Artek pieces on display, while the Riverside sauna also hosts a design shop that features secondhand items as well as new Finnish and Scandinavian design models!

From Kauttua, the tour continues towards Noormarkku Works. The world-famous Villa Mairea is located in Noormarkku, where it stands surrounded by a pine forest. Aino and Alvar Aalto designed Villa Mairea as a home for their friends Maire and Harry Gullichsen; the villa is still partly in private use by the Gullichsen family. On the inside, the beautiful original interiors designed by Aino Aalto are further enrichened by a significant international art collection.

While on the guided tour of the Works, you will also get to explore the Ahlström Voyage -exhibition, and the Makkarakoski sawmill museum.

Cross Of The Plains and the Parish Centre

Aalto took part in a competition for a large church and parish centre announced by Seinäjoki parish in 1951, sending in an entry marked “Lakeuksien risti” (“Cross of the plains”).

Instead of placing the parish rooms under the church or in a smaller, separate building, as the other entrants had done, Aalto seized upon the big religious events commonly organized in Osthrobotnia in summer. He laid out a large piazza, loping down towards the church and girded by the parish facilities, in front of the church´s main facade. He laid out a large piazza, loping down towards the church and girded by the parish facilities, in front of the church´s main facade. This space-consuming solution obliged Aalto to exceed the prescribed construction limit by some twenty metres, which prevented the jury from awarding him a prize. The jury awarded Aalto´s entry a purchase and recommended it as the basis for implementation.

Aalto was commissioned to develop the plain further. The church was built between 1958 and 1960 and the large parish centre in front between 1964 and 1966. The church was basically build to the competition design, except that Aalto had hoped to use black granite as the facade material; for reasons of cost, however, he had to be content with brick rendered white, only the side chapel being faced with granite.

The main characteristics of the church complex are as follows: on the north side stands the campanile, 65 metres high, in the shape of a stylized cross. Monumentally vertical, visible from afar in the endless plains, it is the town´s symbol. The slightly wedge-shaped, symmetrical church interior is 47 metres long and provides seating for a congregation of 1400. The vestry lies behind the altar, and between it and the campanile is a tiny baptistery and wedding chapel with a stained-glass work by Aalto. Aalto also designed the church textiles and communion vessels.

The parish centre´s main divergence from the competition entry is the open staircase on an axis from the main facade of the church to the town hall square (built up later). This staircase separates the two wings of the building, which contain a large assembly hall, catering facilities for the congregation, a room for confirmation classes, a clubroom, offices, and several apartments for employees.

Guided walking tour of the Aalto Centre in Seinäjoki

As an architectural whole, the Administrative and Cultural Centre in Seinäjoki is unique on a global scale.

The Seinäjoki Aalto Centre was designed by world famous architect Alvar Aalto. As an architectural whole, the Administrative and Cultural Centre in Seinäjoki is unique on a global scale. The six buildings are gathered right in the middle of Seinäjoki city centre, within walking distance from Seinäjoki railway station.

A guided walking tour led by a local guide from Seinäjoki will include the The Cross Of The Plains Church, Seinäjoki City Hall, Seinäjoki City Theatre, Aalto Library and the world’s largest collection of Aalto glassware. You will also see the architecturally spectacular Apila Library, designed by JKMM Architects.

Terraced House at the Kauttua Works in Eura

The Terraced House in Kauttua is one of Alvar Aalto’s most prominent works also internationally. In 1937, Alvar Aalto received a commission from the A. Ahlström company for the town planning and infill building of the Kauttua ironworks area. The assignment also stemmed from Alvar Aalto’s friendship with the company’s CEO Harry Gullichsen and his wife Maire Gullichsen. Ties to the traditional architecture of the area were deliberately cut, and instead Kauttua was envisioned as a stage for both a new communal life concept, and modern architecture. The first house to be built in the area was a “stairless apartment block”, known as the stepped terrace house, completed in 1938.

The stepped terraced house was designed as housing for the company’s senior staff. Originally, there were to be several such houses placed on the slopes in the area. The stepped terraced house is a concrete example of the architect’s desire to place the building in close contact with nature: the elevation of the multi-storey residential house follows the slope of the hill, in such a way that the entrance to each dwelling is at ground level.

The three upper flats are equipped with a terrace that extends over half of the lower flat’s roof; this way no-one can look onto their neighbour’s terrace. The three lower dwellings have a basement cut into the slope, and contain three bedrooms, a kitchen, a housemaid’s room and a large living room looking out onto the terrace. The top block comprises three small apartments, two of which open with windows towards the rear of the building. The terrace rails and pergolas for creeping plants are unstripped saplings.

Architecture, interior design and art come together in the Terraced House, where one of the apartments (number 3) is open to the public. This apartment hosts varying exhibitions, and a sales exhibition of furniture pieces whose display is rearranged occasionally. The apartment is furnished with vintage Artek models and lighting fixtures, and some of the items are on sale.

Ekenäs Savings Bank

Alvar Aalto was chosen to design Ekenäs Savings Bank in 1962. The bank is located right in the center of Ekenäs town, within Raseborg city. From the market place of Ekenäs, the bank appears to be a two-storey building, but actually it has three stories altogether. The impressive marble façade, opening to the side of the market place of Ekenäs, is similar in style to the Enso-Gutzeit main building in Katajanokka, Helsinki. The other facades of the building are slammed brick. Alvar Aalto was given complete freedom in the design process; most of the interior spaces and furnishings are also his creation.

Construction began officially in the summer of 1967, and was completed in November of the same year with the roofing, followed by celebrations. The first tenants of the building gradually moved in as early as February 1968, while the bank’s operations did not move into the premises until March 1969. In 1967, the name competition for the new bank building was also announced, won by the Ekecenter – Tammikeskus. The official inauguration of the bank building was held on the 110th anniversary of the Savings Bank in August 1969. Drawings for the second phase of Aalto’s project were published in 1976. Extension work was completed in 1986 under supervision of architect Sverker Gardberg.

Ekenäs Savings Bank still operates in the building. The bank hall is located on the ground floor and a lunch restaurant called Piazza is located on the third floor of the building. The building has included restaurant services since 1968.

Aalto also designed a restaurant to the upper floor of the bank building. Nowadays restaurant Piazza, with interiors inspired by Aalto, welcomes lunch goers

Restaurant Piazza also offers, upon request, a special Bank Manager menu, alongside a brief introduction to the interesting history of the building.

The Bank Manager’s menu includes:

  • Appetizer served to tables (mushroom soup served in a cup)
  • Main course from the buffet (fish, vegetable or meat option)
  • Desserts served to tables (small treat)

The Bank Manager’s menu features high-quality, locally produced ingredients and includes favourite delicacies selected by the current Bank Manager at the Ekenäs Savings Bank. The price for the dinner is € 35 per person. The Piazza is also suitable for groups (a minimum of 10 people) throughout the year, from 4 pm to 8 pm on weekdays or at weekends, and also during lunch time.

In addition to the dining experience, you can also have a guided tour of the old town of Ekenäs. Guided tours can be ordered in Finnish, Swedish and English. Another design by Alvar Aalto, Villa Skeppet, is located within walking distance from the old town. Villa Skeppet will open to the public in December 2020. 

Inquiries and reservations to the Piazza restaurant are handled by Päivi Purontaus, tel +358 50 387 1277, email

Riverside sauna at the Kauttua Works

Aino and Alvar Aalto designed the riverside sauna and laundry building for the employees of A. Ahlström company in the Kauttua Works area in Eura. The building is situated by the rapids in the beautiful surroundings of the bank of the flowing Eurajoki river. It was completed in 1946, with a log and brick structure resting on a concrete foundation. Originally the building had a turf roof. Nowadays Aalto’s riverside sauna is operated by a private entrepreneur, offering meeting and catering services, and of course the original Finnish Sauna experience.

Riverside sauna offers its guests a unique and inspiring space for coffee and lunch moments at their Café Nemo. The sauna facilities in the riverside sauna are warmed up for the guests upon request. In addition, pampering herbal and spa treatments are also available. Riverside sauna guests are welcome to swim in the nearby river or by request take a bath in the outdoor hot tub. The building has two changing rooms, a spacious terrace overlooking the river Eurajoki, and a lounge room decorated with Alvar Aalto furniture. Overnight stay at the sauna building is also available on request.

At the Riverside sauna you also find a design shop called Designpesula in the ground floor, in the former laundry room of the building. The shop is provided with unique Artek and Aalto second hand items as well as new Finnish and Scandinavian design items, available for purchase. Small gallery space features varying exhibitions.