The Alvar Aalto Museum’s first mobile-phone service, AALTOsites, brings the Alvar Aalto-designed buildings in the Metropolitan Helsinki region to your smartphone.  AALTOsites is also part of the Alvar Aalto Museum’s contribution to Helsinki’s year as World Design Capital.

When was Finlandia Hall designed? What does the Rautatalo Office Building’s famous marble courtyard look like? Why are the bricks in the House of Culture round at the corners? And where is the nearest Alvar Aalto building, and can you go inside?

AALTOsites, downloadable free for smartphones, puts an interface to Aalto’s architecture and design directly into the user’s pocket. Erottaja Pavilion, the Otaniemi campus, the Sähkötalo Electricity Building,and Artek, founded in 1935 as a showcase for Aalto’s design, are just some of the numerous Aalto sites shown by the service.

AALTOsites gives the history of each building, plus related details, using numerous photographs and drawings. It tells you when the building was completed, what its typical features are, and about its specially designed light fittings, furniture, and even the door handles. The service also gives basic facts about access to each building. And you can share your experiences of Aalto’s architecture on Facebook.

One important practical feature is that AALTOsites and its maps work without an Internet connection. Once you download the service into your smartphone, you can AALTOsites at any time. The map shows you the locations of the buildings, and uses a mobile-phone positioning service to show you your location on the map, and how far it is to Aalto-designed buildings.

The AALTOsites app will be expanded during 2012 to include Aalto’s buildings in the city of Jyväskylä. The aim is to extend the application to incorporate all of Aalto’s architecture globally. Further languages will also be added in future updates.

Alvar Aalto’s vision of a better everyday environment is still very much alive today. Aalto’s architecture and design inspire people all over the world. The Alvar Aalto Museum aims to make Aalto’s architecture and design accessible to all. AALTOsites is the latest step towards keeping that promise.

• AALTOsites
• Production: Alvar Aalto Museum 2012
• Direction: Museum Director Susanna Pettersson
• Script: Producer Tomi Summanen
• Technical implementation: Whatamap Oy
•  Sites: 19
• Photos and drawings: 153
• Languages: Finnish, Swedish, English, Spanish

Download full Android version: Google Play

Download iPhone version: App Store.

www.alvaraalto.fi/aaltosites

Further details: Producer Tomi Summanen, tomi.summanen@alvaraalto.fi, tel. +358 44 555 7337