Yrjö Ilmari Tapiovaara (September 7, 1914 – January 31, 1999) was a Finnish designer noted for his furnishings and textiles.

Education and work

In 1937 he graduated in interior design and in the following year worked for Asko. He would count

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

as a strong influence. In World War II, Tapiovaara designed dugouts and field furniture to the Finnish Army, a challenging task given that only local wood and simple tools could be used, and no nails or screws were available. His own work gained attention for the Domus chairs. These came about while working with his wife at the Domus Academica from 1946 to 1947. The couple established their own office in 1951. In the following year he taught design at the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

. After this he would do work in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

on behalf of a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

development program. Further in 1959 he received the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

's "Pro-Finlandia medal", and in 1964 a gold medal at the

Milan Triennial XIII The Milan Triennial XIII was the Triennial in Milan on the theme of ''Leisure'', sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) on 12 November 1963 and held between 12 June 1964 and 27 September 1964. Prizes The grand prize was award ...

for his Polar cutlery. He did much of his work for universities, schools, and also did a "Root Table" for the Finnish army
Furniture designs
based on his sketches continued to be produced into the twenty-first century.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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References

Literature

* Svenskberg, Aila (ed.): ''Ilmari Tapiovaara: Life and Design.'' Translated by Jüri Kokkonen. Helsinki: Designmuseo, 2014.

External links

Tapiovaara.fi
Finnish designers 1914 births 1999 deaths Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture alumni Pro Finlandia Medals of the Order of the Lion of Finland {{designer-stub