Studio Aalto now officially a protected building

As Alvar Aalto’s architect’s office attracted more and more commissions from the 1950s onwards, the office space adjoining the architect’s home (completed in 1936) became cramped and more workspace was needed. Studio Aalto was built in Helsinki’s Munkkiniemi residential district, about half a kilometre from the Aaltos’ home. The building served as an architect’s office until 1994, with Elissa Aalto running it 1976–94, following her husband’s death. Since then, the Studio has been used for its original purpose, as office space, by the Alvar Aalto Foundation.

Classed as nationally and internationally valuable, the building forms a multi-layered whole, with its interiors and movables, and represents architect/artist’s house design of its era. The newly confirmed protection order safeguards the building’s unique, cultural-historical interiors and the series of spaces that they form.

A place of experimental design and a current architectural attraction

The office building designed by Aalto for himself embodies his concepts of an ideal working environment. The multiform architecture of the Studio is characterised by a natural linking of interior and exterior spaces, and by the use of natural light and compass orientation to illuminate them. The site’s craft-dominated architectural heritage is in turn evident in the use of materials typical of the time of its construction, which form a well-thought-out, rich, and much-loved whole. The terraced courtyard with its amphitheatre can be seen as the building’s most distinctive feature.

The Studio has its own important place in the chronology of Aalto’s design work. It is associated with numerous details, as well as with fixtures, furniture and lighting. Some of the light fittings are prototypes for or variations on models developed for other sites. Studio Aalto has thus been both a stronghold of architectural design and a place for experimental construction.
Today, the studio has established itself as one of Helsinki’s most famous architectural attractions and museum site that can be viewed on guided tours.

Aalto Works en route to being a UNESCO World Heritage site

The Finnish Heritage Agency, together with national and international experts, the Alvar Aalto Foundation, and the partners, owners and users of the series off sites, is currently drafting an Aalto Works -nomination  comprising thirteen (13) sites, buildings and areas designed by Alvar Aalto. The proposal is due to be submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee by the end of January 2025. The Studio is part of the nominated national series and is significant with regard to Aalto’s entire career as an architect.

With a view to preserving the Studio and securing its future, it is essential that this unique site is well-maintained. The building was last renovated in summer 2024, partly supported by a restoration grant from the Finnish Heritage Agency. Work has been underway on restoring the wooden parts of the balcony and the courtyard-passageway wall, and on renewing the wooden-batten fence. Repairs to the Studio’s façades will continue in spring 2025. The painting work draws on research on surface treatments and sustainability, and is part of the three-year project monitoring climate change impacts on cultural heritage sites co-funded by the Council of Europe, in which the Foundation is participating. 

The Alvar Aalto Foundation promotes the preservation of Aalto’s architectural heritage for future generations. The Foundation’s Architectural Heritage team carries out historical studies of buildings, and makes building inventories and analyses the architectural preservation values of Alvar Aalto sites. It provides expert assistance in renovation projects on Aalto buildings and on issues related to their maintenance, aiming at the best possible solutions together with site owners and renovation planners. The key source material for the work is Aalto’s architect’s office’s original building drawings and documents.