Bio

1916–21

Studied architecture at the Technological University of Finland

1923

Opens the Alvar Aalto office for architecture and monumental art in Jyväskylä, Finland

1924

Start of the collaboration with Aino Maria Marsio in Jyväskylä; marriage

1927–33

Architectural studio in Turku, Finland

1928

Member of Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM)

1928–30

Designes the office building for the Turun Sanomat newspaper in Turku

1929

Worked with Otto Korhonen in an experimental workshop for laminated wood in Turku

1929–33

Built and furnished the tuberculosis sanitarium in Paimio

1933–76

Architectural studio in Helsinki

1935

Co-founds the company Artek and the Artek Gallery in Helsinki; patents the first self-supporting wooden chair frame

1938

Alvar Aalto: Architecture and Furniture exhibition at the MoMA in New York

1939

Designs the Finnish pavilion for the New York World’s Fair; completion of the Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland

1946–48

Guest professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

1949

Aino Aalto dies

1952

Marries Elissa Mäkiniemi

1953

Designs the main building of the Helsinki Technical University

From 1955

Member of the Academy of Finland

1956

Completion of the House of Culture in Helsinki

1957

Completion of new building for the Finnish state pension fund in Helsinki; awarded a Royal Gold Medal by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

1959

Completion of the Maison Louis Carré in Bazochessur-Guyonne, France

1963

Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects

1963-68

President of the Academy of Finland 

1969

Awarded Order Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts, Germany

1975

Completion of the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki

1976-94

After Aalto’s death, Elissa Aalto runs the office until she dies, entrusting Aalto’s drawings to the Alvar Aalto Foundation in Helsinki