Alvar Aalto Seating
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with his wife, Aino Aalto, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
1990s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood, Bentwood, Plywood
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Early 2000s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood, Bentwood, Plywood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Cowhide, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
2010s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch, Plywood
1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Linen, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood, Birch, Fabric
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Finnish Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
1960s Finnish Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Upholstery, Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Linen, Birch
Late 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Fabric, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Wood
1950s Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1920s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch, Lacquer
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch, Plywood
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Textile, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood, Wood, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Velvet, Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fur, Beech
20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch, Bentwood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Plywood, Birch
1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Wool, Birch
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
1960s Spanish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood
21st Century and Contemporary Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Wood, Leather
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Bauhaus Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Early 20th Century Finnish Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Laminate, Bentwood