ALVAR AALTO THE BLOSSOMS ON AN APPLE TREE

Tartu University Library, May 14 August 31, 2008 (closed in July)

Organised in co-operation with the Alvar Aalto Museum, Turku University Foundation, and the Granö Centre of the Universities of Turku and Tartu.

I have throughout almost my entire life searched for means for flexible standardisation. The objective is standardisation that does not force life into any kind of pattern, but rather, on the contrary, increases its variety. () The blossoms of an apple tree are standardised, yet they are all different. This is how we, too, should learn to build.
Alvar Aalto

The exhibition presents seven buildings designed by Alvar Aalto. Villa Tammekann (1932), the Aalto's Aalto House (193536), Villa Mairea (193839), Maison Louis Carré (195962) and Villa Kokkonen (196769) were originally designed as private houses. The Muuratsalo Experimental House (195254) was the Aalto familys summer residence and Aaltos Studio (1955) housed his architects office. Nowadays, the use of all the buildings presented in the exhibition has changed and they are also open to the public as sites of architectural tourism. In the exhibition the main emphasis is indeed placed on change and the passing of time. Apart from the texts, the exhibition panels also comprise photos of the facades, interiors and spatial details of the buildings, as well as floor plans.

The exhibition describes how time has treated Aaltos buildings. Villa Tammekann was restored in accordance with the original plans from an almost unrecognisable tenement house to a Functionalist house. In the repairs to the Aalto House, the life during the Aaltos time was preserved down to the furniture and decorative objects. Villa Mairea has always been treated with great respect and the opulent lifestyle of the 1930s is still evident unchanged. The characteristic features of the Muuratsalo Experimental House, the connection to nature, the durability of the materials and its humane qualities, have been sensitively preserved in the repair work. In Alvar Aaltos Studio an extensive restoration was carried out and all technical systems in the building were renewed. Maison Louis Carré in France is nowadays open to the public. The repair of the house began in 2007. The detailing, furniture and lamps of the house are all original. Villa Kokkonen has also been restored and the building, which earlier was in private use, is now open to the public and functions as a home museum and a venue for meetings.

What all the above restoration and repair works have in common is a respect for the architects original intentions. Patina and history are still present. The buildings have preserved their character, even though times have changed.