The passion projects of Alvar and Aino Aalto’s own home

What would you expect from the personal home of an architectural great? Polished refinement, grandeur, a perfect floor plan? You won’t find these at the Aalto House. This is not the work of a senior starchitect, but rather the creation of two enthusiastic young Finnish designers, Alvar and Aino Aalto, who were keen to test their beliefs within the constraints of early-career means.

At this cosy residence in the Helsinki suburb of Munkkiniemi, you’ll find occasional curtains in place of doors, quirkily scaled stairs that test the possibilities of brick and timber dimensions, and custom-made joinery (much of which was added years later, a pattern many on a budget will sympathize with). But you’ll also find some passion projects – including a lifelong obsession with custom-made door handles, furniture and lights – designed for both human ergonomics and delight. This was Aino and Alvar’s home and office; a place for living, working and learning-by-doing. The building is resoundingly warm and tactile, with exposed natural timber, brick and textiles celebrated against areas of white. Even the white surfaces express the subtle materiality of timber panelling, bagged brick or expressed ceiling sheet joints. The home was clearly designed with the satisfaction of the human senses and psyche in mind.

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Image: Maija Holma, courtesy of the Alvar Aalto Foundation

When I visited, I noticed the walls had a woven texture and realized it was simply fabric, held up by a few timber battens and nails. As a younger designer – almost exactly the same age as Alvar was when this home was built – I often struggle with how to achieve warmth and texture in a home on a plasterboard budget. Discovering details such as these long-lasting, textile-covered walls felt almost like receiving a secret wink from the Aaltos. I was both charmed and relieved by the details that don’t quite work, the things that are misaligned or look like an afterthought. The building seemed to say to me: “Hold on to the big ideas passionately and explore enthusiastically, and leave the rest to the delight of the imperfect.”

Alvar Aalto would have been 125 in 2023. This milestone underscores how ahead of its time the home and office were. With its generous connection to nature and light, and suggestions of a floor plan starting to open up, the design applies an International Style to a site-specific context. Looking at the Aalto House’s textural collage of box forms facing the street, I smirked, thinking of the many project homes of today that are still (poorly) aspiring to re-create the same ideas as this almost-90-year-old home and studio.

You should always jump at the chance to visit an architect’s own home. But don’t expect glitz and glamour; few architects prioritize this. Go instead to see a built time capsule of how they believe life can – and should – be lived.

Sarah Lebner is one of five winners of the 2023 Australian Institute of Architects’ Dulux Study Tour, which travelled to Helsinki, Lisbon, Vals, Zürich and Venice.

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