Alvar Aalto’s visions for Rovaniemi – guided city walk

Architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is internationally renown. In the two hour guided city walk you will discover Aalto’s visions for Rovaniemi.

We will start the city walk with an exhibition that showcase Alvar Aalto’s plans for the reconstruction of post war Rovaniemi. Did you know the urban plan for Rovaniemi, as envisioned by the architect, resembles the head of a reindeer? Subsequently we follow Aalto’s footsteps along the Aho commercial buildings and Maison Aho to the administrative and Cultural Center, which consists of a square, modern sculptures and three buildings: the City Hall, the Municipal Library and the Lappia Hall, home to the City Theater. The administrative and cultural center is the essence of Elissa and Alvar Aalto’s legacy in Lapland. We will focus on the square and on the municipal library, studying the waving shape of the building, and the style and functionality of Artek furniture. You can try out the furniture yourself. In the spacious lending room of the library we will esteem the significance of light design which combines daylighting and Aalto’s signature light fittings. What kind of feeling does the building provoke to you? In the library works by local artists are exhibited.

How did Aalto interpret architectural history and international trends? Do Finnish landscapes resonate in Aalto’s design? Is an Aalto building a gesamtkunstwerk? What made Aalto’s architecture so unique, your guide explains Aalto’s ideas about mankind, nature and technology, and you can see how these ideas are reflected in his design. During the guided tour you will get a good impression about Aalto’s architecture and hear interesting insights about architecture and about the history of Rovaniemi.