Alvar Aalto: Das Gesamtwerk / L'oeuvre compléte / The Complete Work

by Alvar Aalto, Elissa Aalto (Editor)

Der finnische Architekt Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) entwickelte, ausgehend vom Neoklassizismus und Rationalismus, einen unverwechselbaren eigenen Stil, der funktionale und expressive Momente verschmilzt und dabei den Menschen und seine Bedurfnisse immer in den Mittelpunkt stellt. Das Gesamtwerk von Alvar Aalto mit Bauten und Projekten aus den Jahren 1922-1976 liegt in 3. Auflage vor. 1295 Fotos, Photos, 385 Plane und 240 Skizzen zeigen in chronologischer Rheinenfolge alle wichtigeren Bauten.

This three-volume set chronicles the complete works of the Finnish master Alvar Aalto.

Aalto's designs encompassed the fields of painting, architecture, sculpture, and furniture, and are some of the most beautiful and original of modern times. His combination of an interest in natural, organic shapes with the modernist mandates of form and light in its purest aspects makes him one of the acknowledged masters of modern architecture, along with Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright. Ada Louise Huxtable writes of Aalto, "his deceptively simple style is a sophisticated synthesis, a reconciliation of the monumental and the popular, of the general and the particular, of the real and the mythic, of nature and art."

Trilingually presented in German, French, and English.

Genres: Architecture

764 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1985

About the author

Noted Finnish architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto used contrasting materials; his designs include the abbey library in Mount Angel, Oregon, in 1970.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvar_A...

Reviews

[Topaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3-volume set of Aalto's complete works, including projects not built. It is mostly a photo/picture book with very little text. What's nice is the book was written while Aalto was still alive so he contributed to the first 2 volumes at least.

Each project has many photos (all black & white), and usually one or more architectural drawings. The drawings are useful and very plentiful, sometimes 5+ drawings per building. They are also legible and large enough to read some detail unlike most modern architecture books.

Where this book falls a little short is in the photos of the built projects. All of the photos are black & white, but they all seem to be poor reproductions, and also poorly shot to begin with. Many are not focused, blurry, poorly lit, or just not showing enough in the frame. It's somewhat understandable in the first volume since the projects were built in the 20s-40s, but there is only a marginal improvement in photo quality by the third volume. It also seems odd there aren't any photos by well-known photographers, almost as if most of photos were taken by amateurs. In this sense, it would have been better to have fewer but better photos overall, and perhaps some in color too.

You will need to buy/read other books to get a better grasp of the buildings through modern photos. But otherwise, this is a good reference set to have.

Actual photos of the book can be found at Amazon

[Heini Jokinen]

Oikeasti luin Arkkitehti Elissa Aalto kirjan, joka ei ole täällä enkä jaksanut säätää sen saamiseksi listalle... Tämä lähinnä siis tilastoja varten.