At the Fair, we will be commemorating the architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto’s Italian honeymoon in October 1924. The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s on-stage programme on Sunday 27.10 will be dedicated to the theme of Italy. Stand 6E81 will sell the Alvar Aalto Foundation’s own book offerings, for example, the Architecture by Alvar Aalto series, with 27 volumes already published, the latest being Alajärvi (2024), and the Alvar Aalto monographs series on much-loved, world-famous architectural sites.
The architectural playing field awaits the creators of the future: the non-stop workshop for schoolchildren will be open daily on the Alvar Aalto Foundation Stand. Anyone of any age will be able to try out Alvar Aalto memory games – Welcome to the world of Aino and Alvar Aalto’s architecture at the Book Fair!
For the love of Italy and Restaurant Savoy
On Sunday 27.10. The main theme of the discussion sessions run by the Alvar Aalto Foundation is Aino and Alvar Aalto’s honeymoon trip to Italy, which began 100 years ago. In Italy the Aaltos created important contacts with local avant-garde architects, while its indigenous building culture and history greatly influenced the Aaltos’ own architectural expression. In 2024, it is 130 years since the birth of architect Aino Aalto, and the discussion will also focus on her masterpiece of interior design, Restaurant Savoy, along with Mediterranean food culture.
In the discussion: Mirkku Kullberg (CEO of Paimio Sanatorium Foundation and Chair of the Alvar Aalto Foundation Board), Tommi Lindh (CEO of the Alvar Aalto Foundation), Helena Puolakka (Chef Patron) and Saku Tuominen (restaurateur, non-fiction writer) from Restaurant Savoy, moderator Chef and Food Designer Linnea Vihonen. (Show Kitchen, 12–12:30)
Tommi Lindh, CEO of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, will later talk about the Aaltos’ travels and their architect’s office’s links with Italy in conversation with Antonello Alici. Professor in History of Architecture Antonello Alici (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona) will expound on his research topic: that unforgettable honeymoon trip to Italy in 1924. (Kruununhaka stage, 13–13:30)
Architectural playing field waits
The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s Book Fair Stand 6E81 will host an open Architectural playing field for schoolchildren throughout the Fair. The City for Everyone – nonstop youth workshop offers inspiring perspectives on urban planning. How are we to build a functional city where buildings and nature talk to each other? In the workshop, you can design an urban environment with green areas, waterways and buildings. We will then use that finished urban structure to consider what makes a good city and environment.
Architecture and design discussion cards will help students to learn to observe and talk about everyday design, and about a high-quality environment, either with a friend or in a group. The discussion cards are especially suited to primary and secondary schoolchildren. The discussion cards can serve as teaching material for schools and have been designed by Archinfo, the Alvar Aalto Foundation and the Architecture and Design Museum. Alvar Aalto memory games, suitable for ages 1–100+, will also be on sale at the games table.
Welcome to Helsinki Book Fair and the Alvar Aalto Foundation’s Stand 6E81 on 24–27.10.2024!
The Alvar Aalto Foundation maintains the material and intellectual legacy of the world-famous architect and designer Alvar Aalto and acts to make his work and thinking more widely known. The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s sites in Helsinki and Jyväskylä are meeting points for friends of architecture and design from all over the world. The Alvar Aalto Museum, founded in 1966 is now part of the Aalto2 Museum Centre in Jyväskylä.
The Alvar Aalto Foundation consists is the Museum with the national responsibility for Alvar Aalto´s architecture and design heritage and the international centre for information about Alvar Aalto, with extensive collections that form the basis of the Museum´s and the Foundation´s exhibitions and publications.
Helsinki Book Fair (24–27.10.2024), the largest literary event in the Nordic countries, is preparing for its 25th anniversary next year and is already offering more venues and a record number of events. More than 1 500 writers, influencers, artists, and decision-makers will take to the stage. Over four days, there will be nearly 1,000 debates, interviews, and book launches, while children will play and explore literature in the children’s area. The theme of this year’s Helsinki Book Fair is The Future.
Read more:
Alvar Aalto Foundation
Paimio Sanatorium
Restaurant Savoy
Helsinki Book Fair
Contact:
Nina Heikkonen
Programme Manager,
Alvar Aalto Foundation
+358 44 500 1257
nina.heikkonen@alvaraalto.fi
Aila Svenskberg
Event communications, Editor,
Alvar Aalto Foundation
+358 040 659 1930
aila.svenskberg@alvaraalto.fi
Aino and Alvar Aalto in Palazzo Strozzi, Florence 1948. Photo © Alvar Aalto Foundation.