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 furnishings — which range 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 furniture.
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 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 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.
1940s European Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Upholstery, Plywood
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1940s European Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Canvas, Beech
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Leather, Beech
1940s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Beech
Late 20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Bouclé, Birch
1940s Norwegian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Velvet, Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Fabric, Wood
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Beech
20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood, Plywood
20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Upholstery, Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Sheepskin, Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1950s Finnish Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Faux Leather, Beech
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Bentwood, Plywood
1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
1990s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Wool, Birch
Early 2000s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Cowhide, Birch
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Brass
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Beech
1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Wood, Birch, Lacquer
1940s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Fabric, Birch
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
1960s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Plywood
1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Nylon, Beech
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Upholstery, Birch
Mid-20th Century French Alvar Aalto Seating
Metal
1960s Finnish Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Oak
1960s Finnish Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Leather, Birch
20th Century Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s European Art Deco Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch
1940s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Wood
1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Canvas, Birch
1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Alvar Aalto Seating
Birch, Plywood