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Alvar Aalto was born in Kuortane, Finland in 1908, and he lived until 1976. He was a renowned Finnish architect and designer of furniture. His studies led him to architectural school in Helskini, where he graduated in 1921. However, his career did not begin well in Helskini, and so he moved on to a smaller town to start an office and begin his career.

He hired, as an assistant, a young female glass and furniture designer who later became his wife. Aino and Alvar had two children. Alvar Aalto worked in Finland designing several famous landmarks in 1920’s and 1930’s. He was a professor at MIT in the late 1940’s. His most famous furniture includes various table designs and his lamps are also highly regarded.

Alvar Aalto, Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl founded a company named Artek to design furniture. Alvar Aalto designed several classic Aalto furniture (Aalto möbler) including tables, desks, side chairs, lounge chairs, stools, armchairs and children’s furniture. Alvar Aalto designed his first lamps as a student in the university of technology in Helsinki where he won a lighting competition in 1920. The name Aalto is still highly regarded in the world of lighting and lamps as he designed several classic lamp models that are considered as modern today as when he designed them.

Alvar Aalto was a very talented designer. He designed his first furniture when he was still in college. He opened his office and was able to bag an order to design furniture for six churches of Finland. The widely known Paimio Sanatorium including its furniture and lamps were designed by him. He often designed “Aalto tables” to furnish many of his structures.

Alvar styled his first furnishings even prior to graduation. His innovative structural design office received a large contract for the design creation of furnishings for 6 houses of worship in Finland. In 1929 he styled the well-known Paimio Sanatorium in additional to all the furnishings and light fixtures for it. He styled tailor-made “Aalto tables” as well as additional furnishings for every one of his structures.

The Father of Modernism in the Nordic countries, Alvar Aalto referred to his style as “Organic Functionalism”. He has left a significant impact on the furniture design and architecture fields. He and his wife also designed some well known glassware, including the Aalto Vase (Aalto vas). The final compliment he received was the introduction of the Alvar Aalto Medal by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Finnish Association of Architects. This medal is granted for important contributions to creative architects.

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Alvar Aalto’s stamp on the world was not limited to furniture (möbler) design; he is remembered as much for his lamp models that have endured for over 80 years as for his classic tables, chairs, and children’s furniture. Before he even graduated, Alvar Aalto began designing his first furniture. Once in his new architecture office, he received a huge order to design furniture for six churches in Finland. He also designed each piece of furniture in the structure, as well as an aalto lamp. For each structure he designed, he also designed custom tables and other furniture for the interior design (inredning).

- Richard Guilfoyle