Alvar Aalto in Varkaus

Alvar Aalto played an important role in the construction of the Varkaus factories of A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö in the 1930s and 1940s. Ahlström commissioned several dozen plans for Varkaus from Alvar Aalto's office. However, many of the plans remained on paper or were partially completed due to the interruption of the projects during the wars and the subsequent reconstruction period, as well as a general shortage of materials. The majority of the buildings commissioned by Ahlström Aalto in Varkaus were related to housing the factory workers and developing the structure of the city through town planning and experimental trials. The main significance of Alvar Aalto's work in Varkaus is therefore in the production of small houses and the operation of the building factory.

Mustavalkoinen kuva Alvar Aallon suunnittelemasta pienestä omakotitalosta
The house in the picture is a type 35 AA-series house. The residential buildings, called invalid houses, were intended for war invalids who worked for A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö. Ten of them were completed in Könönpelto in 1942. The standard houses could be built either with materials purchased by the owner or using prefabricated elements from a house factory. The invalid houses in Könönpelto were the only houses in Varkaus designed according to the AA system that were completed. Photo: Varkaus Museum Center Konsti, Valokuvaamo Jänis

The exhibition " Industrialists " at Varkaus Museum Center Kosti gives visitors the opportunity to discover Aalto's ambitious plans through the VR reality, the housing of the industrial community in the 1920s and the everyday life of the workers of the past.

We recommend a self-guided tour with the Alvar Aalto in Varkaus map brochure (fin/eng) available for €2 from Museum Center Konsti or the Story Player mobile guide www.tarinasoitin.fi/varkausaalto. The mobile guide is free of charge and does not require a separate app download.

Varkaus is one of Finland's Aalto cities and a member of the Alvar Aalto Route. The Alvar Aalto Route combines sites designed by Aalto's architectural practice into an interesting cultural tourism route in Europe.

For information on other Alvar Aalto sites in Finland visit.alvaraalto.fi

Architect Alvar Aalto designed a red-brick foundry building with a large window area for Ahlström's Varkaus factory in 1946. The foundry was Ahlström's last order for Varkaus from Aalto. Narrators: Hilkka Lehtimaa - Varkaus Museum Center Konsti & Tom Hotti - Sumitomo SHI FW Energia Oy Archival photographs: Varkaus Museum Center Konsti, Valokuvaamo Jänis Producer: PAPUa matkailuun - matkailijan palvelupolku Keski-Savossa

 

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