Experience: Furniture

Alvar Aalto Route: Curated Journeys Through Timeless Architecture

Welcome to the Alvar Aalto Route – a journey where the magic of architecture and design comes alive, inviting you to see the world through a redesigned lens. Alvar Aalto (1898–1976), the visionary of modern architecture, shaped spaces with a profoundly human approach. His creations are more than buildings; they are experiences that resonate with the soul. Scattered across Finland and beyond, they serve as gateways to a reimagined world.

In 2021, this extraordinary route was honoured with the prestigious certification as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, affirming its role in the rich tapestry of European heritage. The Alvar Aalto Route offers more than a journey through architectural masterpieces—it extends a warm invitation to immerse yourself in a space where design, nature, and the human spirit converge in harmony.

This catalogue is your guide to a curated collection of Aalto experiences. Each package is a thoughtfully designed adventure into Alvar Aalto’s world, seamlessly blending his iconic architecture with the unique flavours of local life. From serene Finnish landscapes to vibrant European Aalto destinations, these journeys offer something for everyone. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a devoted admirer of Aalto’s work, we warmly welcome you—and continually seek new partners to enrich the experience.

Step into spaces that defy the ordinary, where every curve, every material, and every detail tells a story that redefines how you perceive the world around you. This is the essence of the Alvar Aalto Route: an invitation to rediscover beauty, functionality, and the interconnectedness of life through the lens of one of modern architecture’s greatest minds.

Let us help you navigate this adventure and uncover how Aalto’s vision can transform not just physical spaces but also the way you view the world itself.

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Alvar Aalto Route

Villa Mairea and Ahlström Works – cultural and culinary experiences

In Noormarkku, Pori, you’ll experience a comprehensive journey into architecture and design through guided tours of the worldrenowned Villa Mairea and Ahlström’s unique historical industrial area with its museums.

This experience is a feast for the senses, combining culinary delights at Noormarkku Works area with a
journey through history, design, and architecture. Villa Mairea’s aesthetic brilliance is a tribute to Aalto’s
genius as well as the relationship between modern design and natural beauty. In Ahlström’s Noormarkku
works, come and meld culture, architecture, and gastronomy, and ask yourself how architecture can
elevate and redefine the cultural landscape.

Villa Mairea and the Ahlström Ironworks are a harmonious marriage of art, design, and industry. Designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Villa Mairea is an architectural gem amidst a pine forest, while the Ironworks area invites you to stroll through a living museum of industrial heritage. Together, they offer a rich cultural experience highlighting the creative synergy of Aalto’s design and Ahlström’s industrial legacy.

Villa Skeppet – Aalto’s personal design journey

This journey offers a unique insight into a residence that blends Mediterranean warmth with Aalto’s signature Nordic touch. Explore rooms where architecture tells personal stories, spaces that pulsate with intimate narratives. As well as observing architectural excellence, explore how thoughtful design can create environments that echo with personal histories and deepen our appreciation for the transformative power of architecture.

Experience a guided tour of Villa Skeppet, where Aalto’s personal touch and Mediterranean influences are evident. Discover the unique history of a home designed as a token of friendship and explore the various architectural solutions that Aalto developed throughout his illustrious career.

Paimio Sanatorium

Paimio Sanatorium, Alvar and Aino Aalto’s international breakthrough design, is one of the most renowned buildings in Finland. Completed in 1933, it is a masterpiece of humane modernism and a true gesamtkunstwerk. Designed as a tuberculosis sanatorium and having served as a general hospital, Paimio Sanatorium has now entered a new era of the philosophy of well-being.

Enclosed by a vast forest of tall pine trees, the iconic site invites you to unwind in its tranquil ambiance. Explore the corridors, sense the luminous light and colors of the Sanatorium as you take a guided tour, discovering the stories of the past. A hike through nature trails or outdoor meditation, Paimio Sanatorium offers the perfect retreat to rejuvenate senses. Lenghten the stay by accommodating on-site, enjoy the local cuisine and various spaces of the Sanatorium.

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.

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.

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.

Aalto sites in Kouvola

Alvar Aalto’s most prominent works in Kouvola are located in Inkeroinen within the area of the Ankkapurha Culture Park. The buildings designed by Aalto in Tehtaanmäki, Inkeroinen date back to 1937 to 1956. These include the industrial buildings of the Anjala Paper Mill and the Tampella Co. Housing Area, including Rantalinja semi-detached houses, Tervalinja terraced houses, three engineering personnel houses and housing blocks for the workers of the mill. While in Kouvola, also make sure to check the Kasarminmäki gateposts, which the young architect designed for the garrison area when he was doing his military service.

The area is complemented by the Tehtaanmäki Primary School finished in 1940 and the Karhunkangas housing area of single-family homes, where most of the residential buildings were completed in 1938. The Tehtaanmäki Primary School is the only elementary school designed by Alvar Aalto that is still in its original use. The town plan designed by Aalto in 1937 covered the entire centre of Inkeroinen, but only the Karhunkangas area and the area adjacent to the mill were ever implemented.

The centre of Kouvola is also an interesting attraction to architecture enthusiasts. The administrative centre of Kouvola representing modernism is a nationally significant built cultural environment catalogued by the National Board of Antiquities. The Town Hall of Kouvola (Bertel Saarnio, Juha Leiviskä, 1964 to 1968, 1969) is an outstanding work of modern architecture classified by the international DOCOMOMO organisation.

The renovated pedestrian street Manski with its shops and cafeterias beckons you to have a cup of coffee and a rest. Those craving for culture make their way to explore the high-standard exhibitions of the Kouvola Art Museum belonging to the Poikilo Museums, and the museum building flooded with light.

Homes and habitats by Alvar Aalto

Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Kauttua Terraced house and Paimio Sanatorium remain as homes, where everyday life merges with architecture and iconic design furniture. Well-being stems from the pine forests and riverside sauna. Set out to experience living as envisioned by Alvar Aalto!

This tour in the South West Finland takes you back in time and presents you the masterpieces of modern architecture. At the Paimio Sanatorium you can learn about Aalto’s modernist ideas healthy environments, at Kauttua you can see the Terraced house, that Aalto designed for residential use.

Villa Mairea presents you the beautiful private home of timeless decor. In the historical Noormarkku and Kauttua Works of the Ahlström company you can enjoy the picturesque milieu and learn about the history of Finnish woodworking industry.

Delicious lunch and dinner are served at authentic locations. There is also a possibility to bathe in the riverside sauna, a building designed by Aalto.

Interior and Furnishing of the Savoy Restaurant

Aino and Alvar Aalto designed the interior of Savoy Restaurant, which occupies a commercial building in the centre of Helsinki. The restaurant’s furniture was commissioned from Artek. The Savoy has mostly kept its original appearance and is still a restaurant.

A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö commissioned the commercial and office building called the Industrial Palace on the South Esplanade in 1937. Aino and Alvar designed the top-floor restaurant and the furnishings for the function rooms on the floor beneath it.

The Savoy Vase

In 1936, Alvar Aalto took part in an invited exhibition held by the Karhula-Iittala glass factory. His series of glass works “Eskimoerindens skinnbuxa” (The Eskimo Woman’s Leather Breeches) won the competition. These winning vases were first displayed to the public at the Paris World Exposition in 1937. One of the models was also chosen to be part of the new Restaurant Savoy’s furnishings. This design of vase came to be known by the name of the restaurant – Savoy.

Artist community at Lake Tuusula and Villa Kokkonen in Järvenpää

The museums near the lake Tuusula display the history and the rich cultural heritage of Finland. A unique community of artists formed on the shores of Lake Tuusula in early 1900’s. Notable artists settled in the rural landscape and their works play an important role in the story of the Finnish identity. In artists’ studios of National Romantic style you can sense the historical atmosphere that generated the inspiring national spirit and the strive towards independence from Russia. Finland gained independence in 1917. Visitors can enjoy art and experience the past through artists, writers and composers of the Golden age of Finnish art. The artists’ studios takes you back in time to the National Romantic era and the other museums in the area exhibit the history of Finland in the 20th century.

Villa Kokkonen (1967—1969) is a real rarity among the private homes designed by Alvar Aalto, because Aalto designed the building as an artist’s home. The composer Joonas Kokkonen lived in Villa Kokkonen for 27 years. The architectural heart of the building is the unique combination of a grand piano and concert room.

Lake Tuusula is a perfect travel destination for it offers you plenty of interesting places to visit within easy reach. Lake Tuusula also offers great possibilities for outdoor activities in summer and in winter. A good bike route of 24 kilometres leads you around the lake in the beautiful landscape. There are lots of places for recreation close by, for example the Sarvikallio viewing point. It offers a spectacular view over the lake Tuusula, a view that inspired artists to portray this distinctively Finnish landscape in their work.

Lake Tuusula Road and the artist community

The road by the Lake Tuusula, Tuusulan Rantatie in Finnish, was part of a historical road connected to
Helsinki. It goes through the beautiful lakeside scenery all the way until the nearby city of Järvenpää. The
Lake Tuusula artist community had a major influence on the cultural history of Finland in the era of
National Romantic movement. Several artists of the golden age of Finnish art settled on the eastern bank of the lake in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The first ones to settle on the shores of Lake Tuusula were the author Juhani Aho and his artist wife Venny
Soldan-Brofeldt. In spring 1897 they rented a villa, which is now called Ahola and open as a museum. Their example inspired other artists to move there, to live and work in the peaceful surroundings close to nature.

The studio residence of painter Eero Järnefelt was built in 1901. Next year were finished the atelier of
painter Pekka Halonen, Halosenniemi, and the home of poet J.H. Erkko, Erkkola. The master composer Jean Sibelius moved with his family in 1904. Their villa is called Ainola after his wife, Aino Sibelius.

Today these five homes are open for visitors. They are located by the Lake Tuusula within a span of 5 kilometres. The Tuusulanjärvi artists’ community would have come to an end by the death of Jean Sibelius in 1957, but the community gained new momentum when Joonas Kokkonen cancelled his plans to move to Helsinki. Instead, he acquired a lakeside plot from the Town of Järvenpää at an affordable price and was able to hire the most famous architect in Finland to design his home. Villa Kokkonen is located nearby, on the other side of lake Tuusulanjärvi.

Alvar Aalto’s Villa Kokkonen

Villa Kokkonen (1967 – 1969) is a real rarity among the private homes designed by Alvar Aalto, because Aalto designed the building as an artist’s home. The composer Joonas Kokkonen lived in Villa Kokkonen for 27 years. The architectural heart of the building is the unique combination of a grand piano and concert room. The Tuusulanjärvi artists’ community would have come to an end by the death of Jean Sibelius in 1957, but the community gained new momentum when Joonas Kokkonen cancelled his plans to move to Helsinki. Instead, he acquired a lakeside plot from the Town of Järvenpää at an affordable price and was able to hire the most famous architect in Finland to design his home.

Villa Kokkonen is a single-storey and multifaceted wooden house that is immersed in natural light. The house itself is worth seeing.

In Villa Kokkonen you can experience the past and the present of the artist’s home. Villa Kokkonen was also one of the first Finnish houses to be selected in the network of Iconic Houses in 2012. The network includes some of the most famous house museums in the world.