One interesting dimension of Aalto's
work that is unfolding on this trip, is how his design responses developed over time, moving
from a robust form of neo-classicism through a period International Modernism
through to what we might term ‘Nordic Humane Modernism, rooted in place.
However, such development also exhibit
consistency of concern, and one consistency is how the building meets the
ground.
In the Workers Club (1924), the ‘piano
rustica’ mediates between building and street; a significant element to the south
of the Eastern façade, fusing with the ground plane at the Western edge of the
Northern façade.
At the Town Hall (1949-1952), the granite
plinth is staggered, moving subtlely against the landscape and with the
building. In places plinth becomes ground.
In the Aalto Museum (1971-1973), the
plinth speaks to the snow, articulating the cill position of opening and
rearing up over the entrance door, in layered materiality.
Perhaps in all architects their
beginnings resonate throughout the work over time. In Aalto’s case revealed with
increasing subtlety, dexterity and articulation.
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