SCREENING. Documentary “Aalto”

The finish company Artek joins the celebration of World Design Capital Valencia 2022 by promoting the presentation in Spain of the documentary on the work and life of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, which will be presented on June 30 at  7.30 p.m. at the Àgora València, an architectural installation and meeting point for Valencian design during the capital year.

Alvar Aalto (Kuortane, 1898 – Helsinki, 1976) is one of the key figures of Scandinavian design and one of the most influential architects of 20th century architecture. The documentary takes us on a tour of his most emblematic buildings. A journey that takes us to the Russian city of Vyborg and its library, to the Finnish Paimio -where he built a sanatorium-, to Massachusetts and the brick building he built as a student residence, to Säynätsalol and its City Hall or to his own home, on the outskirts of Helsinki. But at the heart of the story is the relationship with his two wives, Aino and Elissa. Both architects, they were more than just studio partners, which challenges the myth of the solitary genius. This approach to his public and and private matters is made, in some cases, with material that has never been broadcast before.

After the screening, eight short films will broaden the master’s perspective. From former employees of his studio, who recall the work culture and his working method, to the experience of architect Kristian Gullichsen who lived his childhood in one of his emblematic works -Villa Mairea-, the influence on the work of Australian architect and Pritzker Prize winner, Glenn Murcutt or how classical Italy was always in the mind of the Finn when it came to projecting. The documentary is distributed by the streaming platform Filmin.