Introduction
The Town Hall was constructed between 1949 and 1952. It is a red brick compound arranged around a raised courtyard, in an arrangement that mimics the contours of an Italian hill town. Architectural historians consider the Town Hall to be one of the most important works of the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
Like most of Aalto’s buildings, Säynätsalo Town Hall is idiosyncratic and site-specific. It is an icon of Finnish Architecture.
Many of the buildings in Finland including Säynätsalo Town Hall, have “national monument” status—meaning they are covered by the country’s Act on the Protection of Buildings[1]. Yet many of Aalto’s structures have outlived their original purposes. That puts them in a preservation limbo: too important to tear down, but too expensive to be maintained merely as shrines to their creator.
Since 2015[2], Tavolo Bianco Ltd (The White Table[3]) has developed the versatile re-use of Säynätsalo Town Hall by providing a unique setting for a wide range of activities including accommodation, tours, residency programs, exhibitions, events, concerts, and seminars. We pay tribute to the vision and work of Harri Taskinen, the Director of Tavolo Bianco Ltd and his vision for saving Säynätsalo Town Hall from falling into disrepair[4].
Aalto’s masterwork ceased to be a Town Hall in 1993, when Säynätsalo was absorbed into Jyväskylä. The city’s regional office service point was closed at the end of 2015, though the branch library continues to operate and the apartments are still in use. In our tour we see how the Town Hall has been revitalised by Harri and Tavolo Blanco, and saved from misuse and a creeping disuse.
Accolades
In 1998, the Washington Post likened the Town Hall to “a compact medieval fortress in the forest …. yet … perfectly suited to contemporary life – varied, protective, pleasing, useful[5].
In 2020, Säynätsalo was described as “an extremely modest compound of Town Hall, public library and a few small shops and apartments, both robustly down-to-earth and exquisitely playful in the exacting climate of the Arctic Circle”[6].
In August 2021, the New York Times Style Magazine described Säynätsalo Town Hall as one of “the 25 most significant works of postwar architecture” along with buildings by Mies Van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Carlo Scarpa[7].
Japanese architect Toshiko Mori[8] said “I love everything Aalto did, but in terms of significance, there’s this town hall in the middle of Finland, and it’s multifunctional: housing, a public library, markets. It’s a really interesting town center, and it’s important to celebrate a civic building that’s also successful”.
And finally, there is international status and recognition. In January 2021, Säynätsalo Town Hall, along with 12 other Alvar Aalto buildings (including the nearby Experimental House at Muuratsalo, and the Aalto Campus at the University of Jyväskylä) was submitted by Finland for designation as a combined World Heritage Site. The group of buildings is currently on UNESCO’s World Heritage Tentative List[9],[10] and is scheduled for a full listing in 2026.
As Richard Weston remarks: “Given its relatively remote location and compelling beauty, a visit to Säynätsalo Town Hall inevitably becomes something of an architectural pilgrimage” [11].
Alvar Aalto’s Architectural Practice
In his 50-year career, Aalto and his architectural practice completed some 300 buildings, most of them in Finland, and around 10% abroad. His architectural practice ran for more than seven decades from 1923. The practice entered more than 90 competitions and won 27 commissions. Not all designs went beyond the drawing board; for example, the City Plan for Helsinki was not realised even although it took 10 years’ work. The heyday of the practice was in the 1960s when it was the largest architectural firm in Finland employing at least 50 architects , 40% from abroad, mainly Switzerland. Although there may be a focus today on a “lone male genius” [12], a “star-architect” as it were, Aalto’s work is characterised by collaboration, especially with his two wives, Aino and Elissa.
Alvar Aalto Early Years
Alvar Aalto was born in 1898 and in 1916 entered the Helsinki Institute of Technology to study architecture. He graduated in 1921 and after a year’s compulsory military service and a faltering attempt to start a practice in Helsinki, he returned to his childhood home of Jyväskylä towards the end of 1923 to establish an office. In 1924, with his first important commission for the local Workers’ Club nearing completion, he married his assistant Aino Marsio, joking that he owed her so much in back pay that this was his only way out[13].
Aalto had a passion for the Italian Renaissance and this influenced his future work. But after moving through Nordic classicism[14] and Italianism in the 1910s and 1920s, Aalto wholeheartedly embraced modernism. You can see this transformation from the classical Agricultural Cooperative Building in Turku (1928)[15] to the full-blown modernist tuberculosis sanatorium at Paimio (1928-33)[16]. On returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect’s office, Aalto designed several single-family homes, all designed in the Nordic classical style, such as Villa Karpio (1923)[17] and the Nuora House (1923)[18]. During this period he also completed his first public buildings, the Jyväskylä Workers’ Club in 1925[19], the Jyväskylä Defence Corps building in 1926[20] and the Seinäjoki Defence Corps building in 1924-29[21].
Alvar Aalto Later Years
Alvar Aalto’s later years are marked with prominent commissions of large civic buildings and industrial developments together with domestic villas and include Seinäjoki Parish Centre, Church, Library and Theatre (1950s – 1970s), Finlandia Hall (Helsinki, early 1970s); Sunila Pulp mill and residential area (1936–54); Aalto House (Helsinki,1936), Villa Mairea (1937 – 39), Muuratsalo Experimental House 1950s, Villa Kokkonen (1969), and Villa Skeppet (1969 – 70)[22].
The Wood-Processing Factory in Säynätsalo
The small settlement of Säynätsalo is an unlikely setting for a Town Hall, and for one of the icons of 20th century architecture.
Säynätsalo comprises three small islands close to the northern shore of Lake Päijänne, one of Finland’s largest lakes. The islands currently have a population of around 3,500. The settlement owes its existence to the wood-processing factory formerly owned by the government-controlled Enso-Gutzeit company[23].
There was a sense of optimism for the future after Finland’s experience of World War II. Finland had fought against the Russians and had declined to take part in the Marshall plan for rebuilding Europe[24]. Instead, Finland paid war reparations to the Soviet Union mainly comprised of industrial commodities[25]. The country rapidly industrialised and started to move from a rural economy. In 1952, Finland received a loan of US$38 million from the World Bank (equivalent to around US$374 million in 2021) to rebuild its ailing industries, especially the wood industry[26],[27].
The sawmills and wood-processing factories were often the economic drivers of local communities. In remote areas, sawmills had significant impact on employment. It has been estimated that every job at a sawmill had an indirect impact of five more in the surrounding community. In 1942, Säynätsalo was praised by Finland’s fifth president Risto Heikki Ryti[28] for producing more fire wood than any other town in Finland, it showed that Säynätsalo had sisu (spirit and perseverance).
The factory at Säynätsalo became the heart of the community, and by the time the Town Hall was built (1949 – 1952), Säynätsalo had over 3,000 inhabitants, over half of them dependent for their livelihood on the factory. Latterly, this factory was operated as a softwood and birch plywood plant by UPM Plywood and it employed 167 people. However, it closed in July 2020. Harri Taskinen said “It has been unusually quiet here, when the plywood factory, which fell silent in July, is no longer humming and humming”[29].
Trees in Finland
Finland is associated with trees. Up to 78% of Finland is covered in trees; it is the most forested country in Europe. There are currently more than 70 industrial sawmills in Finland, which produce about 11 million m3 of sawn timber for the world market every year. Although the amount is only 3% of the world’s sawn timber production, Finland is still the world’s fourth largest coniferous timber exporter[30]. It could be said that Finland has “few forests but a lot of trees”[31] where 90% of Finnish forests are manged with only 3% constituting primary or old growth.
Aalto frequently alluded to the country’s forest nature with his architectural settings. Here in Säynätsalo he paid homage to both nature and industry; the Town Hall nestles in a cluster of pine trees while at the same time recognising the industrial past of the community.
Aalto’s Concept for the Town Hall
In 1942 Alvar Aalto was commissioned by the Enso-Gutzeit company to draw up a Master Plan for the area. The prospering community had reached a point where they needed somewhere to focus all the different administration tasks, somewhere for new businesses, for a library and for more housing.
Alvar Aalto won the competition to design an administrative building, essentially a Town Hall which needed to be a mixed development to accommodate all Säynätsalo’s needs. Even though building the Town Hall would create more jobs and well-being, this was an enormous undertaking for a community of this size.
The concept embodies a combination of commercial and civic functions – not only the Town Hall but also shops and a library. There was to be potential for spontaneous meetings in public as part of a democratic life – hence the raised piazza and grass steps as places to invite people into the complex to sit and talk.
There is an Italian influence on the design; Aalto’s first forays into civic design were overtly Italianate. The inspiration Aalto drew from Italy was both architectural and political: his idealisation of medieval and Early Renaissance cities represented a vision of “the good life” which he was determined to bring to the recently independent nation-state of Finland. Göran Schildt[32] relates when Aalto was asked why a small and relatively poor community such as Säynätsalo needed a council chamber 17m high built of expensive bricks, he replied that Siena in Italy had one that was 16m high. In Aalto’s view, why shouldn’t the citizens of Säynätsalo live like 14th century citizens of Siena?
Exterior – The Context and Environment of the Town Hall
Approaching from the southwest, we can see the context of the Town Hall through a triangular plot with pine trees. We see the council chamber rising above the trees. The Town Hall is set on a slope and built on two levels, surrounding a central courtyard. We see how the building fits into the landscape, how it is tantalizingly glimpsed through the pine trees.
The landscape was an integral aspect of architecture for Alvar Aalto. He was interested in how a building could blend into its environment and he was a master at fusing his buildings with their natural surroundings[33].
Pine wood, bricks and concrete were used for the facade and interior. Aalto had preferred to build the roof with copper but at a time when Finland was still paying war reparations to the Soviet Union there was no room for extravagances and so large parts of the roof had to be made with steel.
There is a clear hierarchy to the structure of the complex, where commercial functions are kept on the lower level and the most important function, the council chamber, is situated on the highest level so it easily can be spotted from afar.
Aalto took every opportunity to create the potential for spontaneous meetings in public, which he saw as essential to a democratic life. Hence the raised piazza and the grass steps.
Exterior – The Grass Steps
The grass steps are one of the most photographed and iconic views of 20th-century architecture. The steps and their dimensions evolved – there were no architectural drawings – and the workers thus had the opportunity to fine-tune the shapes on site. The steps were made using impregnated sawn timber – a simple standard 1950s method, nothing more complicated was necessary.
The grass steps are not just an alternative means of access to the courtyard but are also a place to sit and talk. They evoke a Greek-style amphitheatre. Aalto’s concept was to combine nature and architecture to create a close connection between the natural and built environments, presenting a less formal entrance to the Town Hall. Aalto continued to use this design feature in Studio Aalto in Helsinki (1955-56), Maison Carré in France (1959), and Seinäjoki Town Hall (1962).
These iconic steps had been allowed over the years to become formless and overgrown, and eventually collapsed in1977 after twenty-five years. They lay in disrepair until their restoration in 1991, then again in 2020.
Exterior – The Red Bricks
The red brick exterior is unusual in that the red bricks[34] were intentionally left uneven to give the surface of the walls more texture. Mixed with the reddish tone of the exposed pine beams, the bricks give both the interior and exterior a humanistic feel not commonly associated with administrative office buildings. Several styles of brick bonding were used throughout the building, and a more decorative pattern was applied in important spaces to further emphasis the hierarchy of the building’s different functions.
Aalto liked to use rustic red bricks in many of his buildings. He wanted a textural effect that was produced by the subtly changing surfaces, sizes and colours of individual bricks and their alternating headers and stretchers[35]. One of the first buildings Aalto used his red brick technique was at the MIT Baker House Senior Dormitory in Boston, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA (1947-49)[36].
For Säynätsalo, Aalto could not find such highly individualised bricks and so to enliven the walls he asked the bricklayers to lay them slightly out of line: he was so happy with the quality of their work – which, of course, cut across the conventions of “good bricklaying” – that he wrote a personal letter to all the six masons involved and thanked them for their collaboration which had resulted in “a model example of Finnish brickwork.” It is said that some of the brick loads were ordered to be dumped from the truck so the “too-fine” bricks could be broken into rougher pieces. The textured organic nature of the brickwork is further enhanced by the grey mortar joints which are set back so that the bricks sit out a little and thus present shadows on the facades, both inside and outside.
Exterior – The Courtyard
Aalto had lofty ideals for the courtyard; it could also be termed a patio or a piazza It was to be a public space, a democratic space for citizens to assemble.
But there were other interpretations: the architect and Aalto expert, Ranulph Glanville, saw the courtyard, as “a clearing in the forest”[37].
The original surface comprised a patchwork of bricks and cobbles, a melange of materials, textures and colours which aimed to conjure up the feeling of a ruin, or the stones and dirt of a typical farmhouse in western Finland, or perhaps of a small piazzetta which has been patched and altered over time. The surfaces possibly echo what would be done later at the Muuratsalo Experimental House[38].
The courtyard was re-landscaped in 1991, eliminating the patchwork of paving and reconstructing the grass steps. The result has been to domesticate the courtyard, giving it the feel of a private garden rather than the public space that Aalto intended. This garden feeling is reinforced not only by a fountain and a bronze sculpture Dancer (Tanssijatar) by sculptor Väino Aaltonen (dated 1928) but also by the side passage to the offices which partially surround the courtyard, echoing an Italian loggia. These elements give the courtyard a more intimate feel. The passage can also be seen as an outdoor space within the Town Hall, emphasised by the interior use of brick, complementing the exterior brickwork.
The glass in the corridor windows is mainly original, over 70 years old. You can generally tell which panes are the old glass because the shadow they cast is ridged. This is the result of the old manufacturing process which involved the creation of a lengthy balloon of glass that was blown then both ends of this balloon would be removed, leaving behind a cylinder. This cylinder of glass was then split and flattened.
Interior – The Conference Room
The conference or board room is where the board members met. The picture window frames the view of the forest; this also has original glass; you can tell the window panes are not perfect. The leather chairs are in pine and made specifically for this room by interior architect Maija Heikinheimo—with Alvar Aalto’s approval – and were locally made in Säynätsalo. These are the original chairs but they have been re-upholstered and refurbished. The pendant lamps are by Artek, and although not original, they are the same designs as the original. The curtains are also Artek, designed by Aino Aalto.
The painting is by Ahti Lavonen and is titled “Ruaha” (“Peace”) and it was not originally intended to be here. In the 1950s, Säynätsalo municipality was one of several municipalities who competed to win the painting by gathering signatures for a petition against nuclear arms. Säynätsalo won with 87% of local inhabitants voting for nuclear disarmament. This should be seen in the context of the evolving Cold War with Russia. Aalto did not want the painting in the room; indeed, he would have preferred blank walls; he would have preferred to have planned a space for it.
Interior – The Council Chamber
The tallest element of the Town Hall is the council chamber, thus demonstrating the hierarchy of the functions and spaces. The significance of the council chamber is also emphasized by the sculptural wooden rafters in the ceiling and the elegant interior.
The stairs and walls up to the Council Chamber are clad in brick, and due to the high clerestory windows, there is a play of light dancing on the brick surfaces as we go up the stairs. On the landing there is a plywood relief sculpture by Aalto in a special niche. This was meant to be lit from outside by a small window but this was not carried out and the result is a small area of concrete in the red brick wall.
The spectacular fan-shaped roof trusses in the council chamber provide the only structural flourish in the entire building. Aalto called these butterfly trusses (Perhoset). These have been the subject of much speculation: Demetri Porphyrios0[39] has speculated that they represent upturned hands, while to Malcolm Quantrill[40] they recall “great barns”, an “entirely appropriate umbrella for this assembly of councillors drawn from farming stock”, he suggests. Aalto himself offered a more prosaic explanation: faced with the need to provide ventilation between the ceiling and roof, he invented a structural system which enabled him to run both the primary and secondary beams parallel rather than at right angles as in a conventional roof.
There is some natural light fall in the council chamber but, even with additional lights turned on, the room is dimly-lit. With its high ceiling, the ambience in the room is solemn and almost sacred. It is humble. The chairs can be moved around but the tables are fixed in rows to the floor. In this room the elected politicians would deal with the daily matters of the community; facing the chairman who was leading the meeting. Curious members of the public were welcome to view proceedings for themselves on wooden benches, placed along the wall
Above you can see the first version of the pendant A110 made by the Artek design company, nicknamed “The Hand Grenade. The design projects both direct and indirect light onto ceilings, and its perforated inner ring creates a halo effect around the pendant light while simultaneously reducing glare. You can buy the latest version of this iconic design from Artek today.
The Fernand Léger painting in its bespoke niche is a copy[41]. Here is the story. Aalto had originally met Léger (1881- 1955) in Athens in 1993 and then again in Paris in 1950 and mentioned that he was working on the design of a Town Hall for a village where communist workers were in the majority and the artist, himself a well-known communist, offered to do a painting for the building. Unfortunately, the rural community did not share Aalto’s enthusiasm for the work, and refused to pay the modest – indeed bargain – asking price of 200,000 Finnish Markka (FIM), equivalent to around €10,000 in 2024. Unwilling to hurt Léger’s feelings, Aalto sent the money himself and kept the painting. Later a copy was put into the custom-made niche in the wall.
The Picasso niche was designed by Aalto with the idea to showcase a work by Picasso, but this never happened.
The fresco high up on the wall is by Fritz Hilbert, a German artist working in Aalto’s office. It has been painted onto wet concrete and shows Säynätsalo at that time with no bridge to the neighbouring islands including Muuratsalo.
Interior – Details
Aalto adopted the design approach of “total work of art ”, often referred to in German as Gesamtkunstwerk, where all elements of a project, from architecture and interior design are considered equal parts of a cohesive whole. Other architects who embraced this practice include the Bauhaus School, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Door handles: In a part of the world where temperatures can fall well below minus 10 degrees centigrade in the winter time, door handles on the outside as well as on the inside were clad with thick leather strips so visitors would not have to directly touch the brass, giving them a warmer welcome.
Corridor Lamps: One side of the corridor that leads to the conference room is facing the courtyard and along this corridor, the light fittings in the ceiling are partly angled towards the windows. The intention is that the light from the lamps can reflect in the large windows and give people a sense of natural light, even during the dark time of the year.
There is a hoya (wax plant) in the corridor which is said to date from the early days of the Town Hall, maybe the 1990s or even 1950s/1970s. A local woman brought the plant back to the site saying that she had been looking after it for years and it now needed to be returned to its original place.
The light wood wall panels at the entrance are original; one panel is for the names of the councillors.
Art and the Town Hall
An article[42] puts forward the view that there are six works of art that Aalto incorporated into the Town Hall. This figure excludes the painting in the Conference Room which Aalto did not envisage to be hung there. The successful integration of other artists’ works with Aalto’s architecture is more obvious here that in earlier projects[43]. And it is perhaps an exception in Aalto’s career considering the scale of the Town Hall complex, the scarcity of resources in Finland after World War II, and the limited opportunities available within this small industrial community.
The six artworks are:
- Dancer (Tanssijatar) by sculptor Väino Aaltonen (1928)
- Plywood relief sculpture by Alvar Aalto
- Proposed sculpture by Picasso (not realised)
- Butterfly trusses in the Council Chamber
- Mural by Fritz Hilbert
- Copy of painting by Fernand Léger
The Library
The library still serves the community of Säynätsalo today. It used to be only on the first floor at ground level. Its ceiling characterised by rows of concrete beams. In contrast to the sparsely lit red brick walls that dominate the Town Hall building, the library is mainly white and full of light.
A special multi-purpose lamp was designed that consists of several light sources attached to a vertical metal rod, directing light downwards as well as onto the bookshelves. Besides custom made furniture such as a book trolley, the library interior also showcases several classic design icons introduced from the Artek design company.
MAIN REFERENCES
1. Town Hall, Säynätsalo, Alvar Aalto: Richard Weston, Architecture in Detail, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 1993.
2. Design and Peace, The International Aino & Alvar Aalto Design Colloquium 14-15th June 2019, Säynätsalo, Finland.
3. https://en.docomomo.fi/projects/saynatsalo-town-hall/
4. Alvar Aalto: Säynätsalo Kunnantalo, Rakennushistoriallinen Selvitys 2018- 2019 (in Finnish, and translates as Alvar Aalto Säynätsalo Town Hall Building Historical Survey)
ENDNOTES
[1] The courtyard grouping was protected by Building Preservation Law 3§2 in May 1994. The whole complex is now protected by the Finnish Government Ministry of the Environment Building Protection Act 8 June, 1995
[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-alvar-aaltos-greatest-buildings-find-new-life-11563539533 accessed 1 March 2021.
[3] “The White Table” is referred to in Goran Schildt’s “Alvar Aalto The Mature Years”, Tizzoli, New York, 1991, the last of a three-part biography tracing Aalto’s life. Thus Tavolo Bianco is a symbol of and a synthesis of Aalto’s work. The table was Aalto’s father’s working table on which all the varied planning requirements that a surveyor had to consider were synthesized into a single creative act, a summing up of his life experiences. Alvar Aalto’s childhood white table was large. And it what where Aalto made his life work. Tavolo Bianco creates a framework and large tables for working, studying, and dreaming for students, researchers, and anyone interested in Aalto’s work.
[4] Renovation started in 1995 to repair damage caused by moisture, fix roof leaks and upgrade utilities. These works were completed in 1998, just in time for the centenary of Alvar Aalto’s birth.
[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1998/03/14/peaceful-places/44369319-3a50-4658-b4c9-736fbd57a774/ accessed 12 April 2022
[6] https://eardleydesign.com/halls/saynatsalo/ describing Säynätsalo in 2019; website accessed on 16 June 2020. It should be noted that Säynätsalo is not within the Arctic Circle.
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/t-magazine/significant-postwar-architecture.html
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiko_Mori accessed 12 June 2023.
[9] The full list is under the provisional inscription,” The Architectural Works of Alvar Aalto – A Human Dimension to the Modern Movement” and comprises: Paimio Sanatorium; Aalto House; Sunila Pulp Mill Housing Area; Villa Mairea; Säynätsalo Town Hall; Experimental House, Muuratsalo; Studio Aalto; Church of Three Crosses, Vuoksenniska; House of Culture; University of Jyväskylä, Aalto Campus; Social Insurance Institution Main Office; Seinäjoki Civic Centre; Finlandia Hall. These sites will join the existing seven World Heritage sites in Finland: Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki (1999), Fortress of Suomenlinna (1991), Old Rauma (1991), Petäjävesi Old Church (1994), Struve Geodetic Arc (2005), Verla Groundwood and Board Mill (1996), and High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago (2000, 2006).
[10] https://www.museovirasto.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/ehdotus-aalto-sarjakohteen-nimeamisesta-unescoon-valmistuu-2025 accessed 10 June 2023.
The proposal will be submitted to UNESCO in early 2025, and a decision is expected in 2026. The original architectural drawings, design exhibits, photographs and miniature models of the sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site proposals are now on display in the Aalto2 Museum as of June 2023.
[11] Town Hall, Säynätsalo, Alvar Aalto: Richard Weston, Architecture in Detail, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 1993
[12] https://aaltosiilo.com/en/Alvar_&_Aino_Aalto
[13] The partnership of Alvar and Aino flourished in a creative collaboration until Aino’s death in 1949. She was the co-founder of the design company Artek (founded in 1935 by Maire Gullichsen, Nils Gustav Hahl and Aino and Alvar Aalto). (Artek is now owned by the Swiss furniture company Vitra AG). Aino’s creative output spanned textiles, lamps, glassware (for Iittala), and buildings. Aino Aalto’s role in the design of the architecture attributed to Alvar Aalto has never been specifically verified but it’s almost certain that she had a significant impact.
[14] Nordic Classicism was a style of architecture that briefly flourished in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark between 1910 and 1930. It was regarded as an interlude between two far more well-known architectural movements, National Romanticism (Jugendstil/Art Nouveau) and Functionalism (Modernism).
[15] https://en.docomomo.fi/projects/southwest-finland-agricultural-cooperative-building/
[16] https://paimiosanatorium.com/fi/etusivu/
[17] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/arkkitehtuuri/karpion-huvila-muutostyo/
[18] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/arkkitehtuuri/nuoran-talo-muutostyo/
[19] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/en/architecture/jyvaskyla-workers-club/
[20] https://finnisharchitecture.fi/the-jyvaskyla-defence-corps-building/
[21] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/en/architecture/the-seinajoki-defence-corps-building/
[22] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/en/information/alvar-aaltos-life/
[23] https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enso-Gutzeit accessed 1 March 2021. Now part of Stora Enso.
[24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan accessed 1 March 2021.
[25] https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/60-years-after-the-war-reparations
[26] Report and Recommendations of the President to the Executive Directors concerning a Supplemental Loan to the Bank of Finland, October 27, 1952, World Bank Group Archives, Washington, D.C., United States.
[27] In Finland, 97% of the trees in forests are either pine, spruce or birch. Half the forests are pine forests.
[28] President from 1940 to 1944.
[29] https://yle-fi.translate.goog/uutiset/3-11849813?_x_tr_sl=fi&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc accessed 12 April 2022 and translated from Finnish to English, and edited for clarity.
[30] https://woodfromfinland.fi/why-finnish-wood/
[31] Conversation in Säynätsalo on 20 May 2025 with Mr Nikko Nappu of “For a Better Nature Foundation (plups.fi)”
[32] Aalto’s biographer.
[33] https://tlmagazine.com/aalvar-aalto-museum-the-cultivated-landscape-of-alvar-aalto/
Accessed 6 August 2021
[34] The bricks for the Town Hall came from the Lappila brickworks, 30km west of Jyväskylä
[35] Stretcher brick: a brick laid flat with its long narrow side exposed; Header brick: a brick laid flat with its narrower width exposed.
[36] https://archeyes.com/mits-baker-house-by-alvar-aalto-the-undulating-brick-form/
[37] Town Hall, Säynätsalo, Alvar Aalto: Richard Weston, Architecture in Detail, Phaidon Press Ltd, London, 1993.
[38] https://www.alvaraalto.fi/en/location/muuratsalo-experimental-house/ accessed 10 June 2023.
[39] Greek architect who advocated a ”classicism without style” (which he called ”Doricism”), similar to Nordic Classicism in early 20th century Scandinavia and the works of Gunnar Asplund in Sweden and early Alvar Aalto in Finland.
[40] British Architect whose book Alvar Aalto: A Critical Study (1983), set Aalto in his historical context, both regarding world architecture history and that of Finnish architecture.
[41] The 1950 painting is entitled Composition. It was sold at Christies in 2002 for over GBP200,000 (USD300,000; EUR320,000 at 2002 exchange rates) from the estate of Alvar Aalto.
[42] “Interactions of Art and Architecture – The Case of Alvar Aalto’s Town Hall in Säynätsalo”, Jonas Malmberg, Nordic Journal of Architectural Research (Nordisk Arkitekkturforkning), Issue 1-2023, p 47 – 74.
[43] “The Trout and the Stream”, Alvar Aalto, Domus Magazine, 1947.