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Sunday

Sunila pulp mill and residential area (1936–38, 1947, 1951–54) form the largest entity realized according to Alvar Aalto’s original plans. Aalto drew up a master plan for the industrial community in summer 1936. He separated the factory from the residental area by placing the former on a rocky island accessible via an embankment, and scattered the residential units on the mainland, thus creating Finland´s first “forest town”. The scheme is still a harmonious example of the socially driven construction of the period and of the possibilities and achievements of building technology.

Designed in

1936–38, 1947, 1951–54

Location

Finland, Kotka

— 1

View from the sea to the mill. Photo: Foto Roos, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 2

Plan for the Sunila pulp mill and residential area. Drawing: Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 3

Modern pulp mill architecture. Photo: Eino Mäkinen, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 4

The head office building is located right next to the mill, inside the factory gates. This was an unusual solution at the time. Photo: Gustaf Welin, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 5

The head office building. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 6

The head office building was furnished according to a plan by Aino Aalto. Photo: Gustaf Welin, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 7

In Sunila, the dwellings do not form traditional street spaces and blocks. The nature and terrain have guided the placement of the buildings. Photo: Foto Roos, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 8

The row house for engineers. The fan-shape and stepped levels of the dwellings provide the right amount of privacy. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

— 9

All the dwellings in the three-storey RinneOviTalo (Slope Door House) apartment buildings have their own connection to the yard. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation.

Guided tours

Guided tour enquiries from Kymenmatkat Oy: +358 5211 1600, kymenmatkat@kymenmatkat.fi

Visits

See information about visits from visit.alvaraalto.fi.