Elissa Aalto (born Elsa Kaisa Mäkiniemi, 22 November 1922 – 12 April 1994) was a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
.
[Virtanen, Berit: "Obituary: Elissa Aalto", in ''The Independent'', 23 April 1994]
Life
Elsa Mäkiniemi graduated in architecture from the
Helsinki University of Technology
Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...
in 1949, and the same year she joined the office of
Alvar Aalto. They married in 1952, when she was 29 and he was 54, and they had no children together. At that time, the office was working on several architecture competitions and on some extensive public commissions in Finland and abroad.
After marrying Alvar Aalto in 1952, Elsa Mäkiniemi began using the name Elissa Aalto. She was supervising architect on several of the office’s major building projects, the earliest being the construction site for
Säynätsalo Town Hall
The Säynätsalo Town Hall ( fi, Säynätsalon kunnantalo) is a multifunction building complex, consisting of two main buildings organised around a centralised courtyard; a U-shaped council chamber and town hall with administrative offices and a ...
(1949–52). This was followed, for instance, by Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics (now the University of Jyväskylä, 1951–71), the private house
Maison Louis Carré
Maison Louis Carré is a residential building in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France designed by Finnish modernist architects Elissa and Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. ...
(1956–65) in France, and the Nordic House (1962−68) in Reykjavik. Projects known to be Elissa Aalto’s independent designs include the
SOS Children’s Village in
Tapiola
Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...
, Espoo (1964–65), and the private house Villa Hauta-aho (1982–83) in
Seinäjoki. In her printed-fabric designs for
Artek her architectural creativity took the form of the graphic patterns H55, Pisa and Patio. The architect couple designed a summer residence for themselves,
the Muuratsalo Experimental House (1952–54) on an island in Lake Päijänne, where they spent time in the summer. She was involved in all competition projects the office undertook.
Over the decades, Elissa Aalto’s role as a skilled mediator of Alvar Aalto’s ideas in the architect’s office grew greater. She ran the office in 1976−1994, bringing to completion several unfinished building projects, among them the
Church of the Cross in
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...
(1969–79) and
Riola Church (1966‒80) in Italy, along with Essen opera house,
Aalto Theatre
The Aalto Theatre (Aalto-Theater) is a performing arts venue in Essen, Germany, and is home to the city's opera company Aalto-Musiktheater and the ballet company Aalto Ballett. The serve as the venue's orchestra. The theatre opened on 25 Septemb ...
, in Germany (1959, 1983–88).
Jyväskylä City Theatre (1964–82),
Seinäjoki City Theatre (1981–87) and
Rovaniemi Town Hall (1963–88), completed under Elissa Aalto’s leadership, had already been added to Aalto-designed city centres. The architect’s office worked on the repair and alteration of Alvar Aalto’s buildings, the longest-lasting task being the
Vyborg Library
Vyborg Library ( fi, Viipurin kaupunginkirjasto) is a library in Vyborg, Russia, built during the time of Finnish sovereignty (1918 to 1940-44), before the Finnish city of Viipuri was annexed by the former USSR and its Finnish name was changed to ...
restoration project (1927–35).
Elissa Aalto also played a sizeable role in the setting up of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, which fosters Aalto’s heritage, in 1968. Following Alvar Aalto’s death, she was extensively involved in the discussion about his architectural heritage and the preservation of his buildings. She facilitated the transfer of the Alvar Aalto’s office’s drawing, photograph and document collection to the ownership of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, thus keeping the collection all in one place.
Elissa Aalto died in 1994
and was buried in
Hietaniemi cemetery, Helsinki, with her husband.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalto, Elissa
1922 births
1994 deaths
People from Kemi
20th-century Finnish architects
Finnish designers
Finnish women architects
20th-century Finnish women artists
Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery
Alvar Aalto