Location: Järvenpää, Finland
Duration: 1 h, 2 h, 3 h
Sites: Alvar Aalto’s Villa Kokkonen
Available: All year
Accommodation: Not included
Transportation: Not included
Themes: Aalto homes, Art, Music
From 12–37 € per person
The entity composed of Alvar Aalto’s architecture, the outdoor area and lake view, and the small concert by the tenants of Villa Kokkonen.
Tour highlights:
A trip to remember to the history and present day of the house designed by Alvar Aalto.
Villa Kokkonen (1967 to 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, and during a tour of the home of Elina Viitaila and Antti A. Pesonen the tour participants can also experience the story of the house and enjoy the superior acoustics of the concert room.
Viitaila and Antti A. Pesonen wellcome their guests at Villa Kokkonen. Photo: Mestart Oy.
Villa Kokkonen is situated by the Lake Tuusulanjärvi in Järvenpää. Photo: Visit Tuusulanjärvi.
Villa Kokkonen is a real rarity among the private homes designed by Alvar Aalto, because Aalto designed the building as an artist’s home. – Visitors walk inside Villa Kokkonen with their shoes off. Guests should take along their own woollen socks, slippers or another pair of indoor shoes.
Antti will receive the guests on the stairs of Villa Kokkonen, presenting the Iconic Houses poster on the notice board. Villa Kokkonen was 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.
Weather permitting, Antti and the tour participants will walk a full 360 degrees around the main building of Villa Kokkonen, with Antti serving as the tour guide. During the outdoor tour, the tour participants can see an abundance of Alvar Aalto’s architecture, the garden of the house, and Lake Tuusulanjärvi.
Next, we will move indoors. The guided tour continues in the concert room of the house, where the guests have seating for up to 55 persons.
When Elina joins the group, the tour culminates in a small concert by the proprietors. The concert covers the Finlandia Anthem, Paavo’s hymn, and Nocturne or O sole mio.
Catering
The visits can include buffet catering, because the house has a catering kitchen of its own.
Shopping
At the end of each visit, the guests have an opportunity to buy Finnish hand-made liquorice and chocolate, Aalto silver jewellery, Villa slippers and Johan&Nyström coffee or tea from Villa Kokkonen’s shop.
Järvenpää / 1967-1969
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…
Villa Kokkonen is located 41 km from Helsinki on the western side of Lake Tuusulanjärvi on the border between Järvenpää and Tuusula. Local trains take 36 minutes to run from Helsinki to Järvenpää, and from the Järvenpää railway station it is just a five minute drive to Villa Kokkonen. Thanks to good road connections, Villa Kokkonen is also easily reachable along Tuusulantie road or Lahti motorway.
Private cars are parked at the parking area shared by Järvenpää War Veterans and Villa Kokkonen, located about 40 metres from Villa Kokkonen. Villa Kokkonen’s yard area is always kept clear of cars. You can stop for a while in the yard, but not park there.
When you arrive at Villa Kokkonen by bus, you can park the bus at the side of the road in front of Villa Kokkonen so that the nose of the bus is approximately at the point of our mailbox. Antti will give the driver more detailed parking information.
Visitors walk inside Villa Kokkonen with their shoes off. Guests should take along their own woollen socks, slippers or another pair of indoor shoes. Stiletto heels are prohibited to protect the soft pine floor and some valuable carpets.
Read more on the guided tours and services on the Villa Kokkonen website.
Prices:
The prices include value-added tax.
Read more on the guided tours and services on the Villa Kokkonen website.
Prices:
The prices include value-added tax.
Tuulimyllyntie 5
04400, Järvenpää