One summer in the 1990s, I went to see the work of Alvar Aalto in Finland, on a sort of pilgrimage. I was a young architecture writer at the time, then married to a young architect; many architects and design enthusiasts continue to do this today. The Finnish modernist architecture master’s buildings have such a profound connection to their location that it feels important to experience them in person and to be immersed in the landscape that inspired them.
I was particularly moved by visiting Säynätsalo Town Hall (1949–52) just outside Jyväskylä in central Finland. This intimate, yet proudly civic building seems to have merged with the landscape: grass grows on the steps leading up to the entrance and the building wraps around a small courtyard as if it were putting a warm arm around you.
