Unique donation on the threshold of Aalto 125 anniversary
The Alvar Aalto Foundation has received a significant furniture donation from Stora Enso. It comprises a total of 121 free-standing furnishing elements – furniture and light fittings – that were part of the interior originally designed by the architect Alvar Aalto for the Enso-Gutzeit Headquarters office building (Kanavaranta 1, Helsinki, 1959–62).
Completed in a central position on the South Harbour in 1962, the building’s architecture and interior design form an integrated whole whose main features have been well preserved. The interior incorporates models from Artek’s range and unique objects – pieces of furniture and fittings individually designed for the building. Most of the donated objects belonged to the interiors of the office building’s “Directors’ floors” (5th and 6th), which exuded a dignified aura. The building’s façades and some of the interior spaces are protected under the 2010 Act on the Protection of the Built Heritage (498/2010).
Stora Enso celebrates its 150-year history in Finland this year. “We wanted to honour our 150th anniversary in Finland by donating these items, which have a unique cultural-history value, to the Alvar Aalto Foundation. The building, its designed furniture and lights fittings form an extraordinary entity and we think the Alvar Aalto Foundation is exactly the right owner for them.” says Seppo Parvi, Country Manager Finland at Stora Enso.
”We are happy to say that Stora Enso understands that Aalto’s architecture and design bring together the value and meaning of a complete artwork in a unique way. The primary intent of both donor and recipient is to preserve the furniture in use in its original context,” says Alvar Aalto Foundation CEO Tommi Lindh. “It will also be possible to show these objects in the exhibitions produced by the Foundation and to lend them for Finnish and international Aalto exhibitions,” Lindh reveals the future of the objects. Due to the substantial total number of pieces of furniture, the donated objects are being added to the Alvar Aalto Foundation’s design collection as a separate Stora Enso section.
The building was designed to be part of Helsinki’s shorescape, with the white Carrara marble chosen as the surface material linking it to the row of white-façaded townhouses on the North Esplanadi.
On February 3, 2023, it will be 125 years since the birth of Alvar Aalto. The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s main anniversary event is the opening of the new Aalto2 museum hub and its inaugural exhibitions in Jyväskylä in May. With this furniture donation Stora Enso becomes one of the sponsors of the Aalto exhibition.
Further information about the donation:
Alvar Aalto Foundation
CEO Tommi Lindh
+358 (0)44 562 1625
tommi.lindh@alvaraalto.fi
Senior Chief Curator Katariina Pakoma
+358 (0)400 849 315
katariina.pakoma@alvaraalto.fi
More from Alvar Aalto:
Join the festivities! Alvar Aalto’s wooden relief celebrates Finnish Design Shop’s 20th anniversary
In 2024, Finnish Design Shop celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special reissue of Alvar …
The Alvar Aalto Foundation’s museum sites invite you to Munkkiniemi
Photo: The Aalto House living room 1935-36 Helsinki. Photo Maija Holma © Alvar Aalto Foundation. …
How Villa Mairea came to embody the Artek Interior, finished in 1939, Aino and Alvar Aalto’s modernist masterpiece
Finished in 1939, Aino and Alvar Aalto’s modernist masterpiece became a symbol of Artek’s ongoing …
The Black Edition: A201 Pendant’s Limited Return design by Alvar Aalto – Artek
Artek’s A201 is a clean-lined, stylish pendant made up of two steel cylinders and a …
The Return of Armchair 45 design by Alvar Aalto – Artek
Photography by Mikko Ryhänen, 2024 Armchair 45 returns to the collection this autumn to complement …
Sacred spaces: Community and Continuity in Aaltos’ Architecture
September 27 – January 5, 2025 Opening on September 27, 2024, at Aalto2, the exhibition …
Alvar Aalto Medal 2024 goes to Belgian architect Marie-José Van Hee
Marie-José Van Hee. Photo © Jef Jacobs. The fifteenth Alvar Aalto Medal has been awarded …
Let’s build a sustainable architectural heritage together – donate to the renovation of Studio Aalto
The Alvar Aalto Foundation is the custodian of Alvar Aalto’s architectural heritage and has launched …
Alvar Aalto Symposium focuses on the role of architects amidst change
The 16th Alvar Aalto Symposium will be held in Jyväskylä 22–23 August 2024 The built …
Limited editions of Unique hand-carved Aalto Vases made from Finnish sand
Since the founding of Iittala Glassworks in 1881, Iittala has been synonymous with expertise in …