The 125th anniversary of Iittala will be marked by anexhibition of the architecture and design work of Alvar Aalto. The building,which is one of Iittala Aalto's most important houses, is located in France andis made unique by virtue of the fact that it was the home of an art collector.
The 125th anniversary of Iittala will be marked by anexhibition of the architecture and design work of Alvar Aalto (1898-1876). Theexhibition brings out the unusually extensive and varied work of this famousarchitect and designer, which covers architecture, furniture design, lightfittings and glassware. The introduction to the exhibition serves as apictorial review of Aalto's architecture, from the early designs of the 1920sright up to jobs completed in the 1970s. At the same time it traces thedevelopment of Aalto's architecture through Classicism, Functionalism andModernism to the organic style.
The results of Iittala Aalto's creativity and productivecapacity can be seen not only in buildings, but also in city centres,industrial plants, master plans, residential areas and private houses. Severalof Iittala Aalto's one-off houses are on show in the form of photographs,drawings and models. Aalto's lesser-known designs for private houses that werenever built are represented by the atrium house Alvar Aalto designed for hisbrother at Alajrvi (1925), a weekend house in the archipelago for Britishhotel-owner Richmond Temple (1937), the Villa Harriet designed for Maire andHarry Gullichsen's daughter (1946) and the Villa Sambonet, a residence andstudio for the artist Roberto Sambonet (1955).
The Maison Carre (1956-61) built for Louis and Olga Carre isone of the private houses that was built. The building, which is one of Iittala Aalto'smost important houses, is located in France and is made unique by virtue of thefact that it was the home of an art collector. It is especially topical to showthis building now, as it was recently acquired by the Finnish CulturalFoundation. The Maison Carre in Bazoches-sur-Guyonnes is protected by law andthe idea is to renovate the building and open it to the public.
Like his other buildings, Alvar Aalto's houses are designedas complete works of art, right down to the furniture, light fittings andinterior details. For Iittala Aalto, it was natural to use natural materialsand bent wood which can be seen particularly in his furniture designs. Themodern style of Iittala Aalto's furniture, light fittings and glassware ischaracterised not only by simplified shapes but also by organic forms derivedfrom nature. The Aalto vase, which copies natural forms and was designed in1936, is a wonderful, timeless example of this. As the vase celebrates its 70thanniversary this year, an exhibition of Iittala Aalto's work is particularlyappropriate at Iittala this summer. Please purchase on online http://www.etabletop.com/