critical summary (alvar aalto)

i chose to write my summary on alvar aalto and his municipal center of saynatsalo. (1949 -1952)

1. descriptive words. what kinds of words does the architect use that is specific to his ideas. HUMANIST, IDEAL

2. basic observation. how do you think the architect views the world in order to determine the way he creates? i think the architect is a compassionate man, sensitive to the natural world. i believe this architecture is created in such a way to harmonize with the wooded surroundings versus dominating them.

3. geometry. what kinds of forms of geometry, geometric patterns, geometric combinations, does the architect use to describe space? how do the forms affect human response? the center seems to be predominantly horizontal rectangular structures with the exception of the jutting triangular vertical tower. because of the relative consistency of the horizontal, the verticality of the tower demands the passerby to acknowledge it and pay particular respect to that form.

4. how is the architect an artist? how does one abstract the natural world and reinterpret it through architecture? quote, “a building is like an instrument. it has to absorb all the positive influences and intercept all the negative influences that might affect people. a building cannot do that unless it is treated with the same finesse as the environment it stands in.” aalto was particularly fond of using natural materials and rejected the modernists “machine aesthetic.” brick, wood, and copper have been used in this architecture.

5. site analysis. describe how the site determines how the architect located the building on site. how does the sun, wind, light, and shadow describe the building? various buildings are planned around a courtyard which was artificially raised above the surrounding countryside using earth excavated for the buildings foundations. the library, in contrast with the opaque tower, is transparent. a glass facade with wooden framing turned towards the sunlight.

6. describe the facade(s) of the building through patterns. do you see a pattern? the dominating element of the building is the vertical tower. the towers height is intentional as aalto wanted to, “assert the superiority of civic buildings [over commercial buildings].” the brickwork is patterned. pattern implies repetition of an element; however, the volumes of the buildings fluctuate.

7. diagram the building to visually describe the way the building is put together. imagine the building in plan as a large rectangle with a smaller rectangle hollowed out in the middle. this “middle” is where the courtyard is situated. the courtyard arrangement was inspired by italian renaissance.

8. describe some formative ideas about the building. quote, “variations in opacity and transparency. the diversity of the volumes, the work with proportions all give particular richness to the building.” quote, “each wing of the building was given an irregular geometry by the use of setbacks, cantilevers, or oblique walls so that the whole design evoked the tensions and complexity of an urban landscape.”

9. describe how scale and proportion are used in the building materials or forms, of the architecture; i.e. window sizes, textures, openings, etc. how is human scale represented (or not)? windows in council chamber; “large square bay window opening to the north is masked by interior wooden, open work shutters. like stained glass windows in a church, they obscure the view and keep the place in half light. an additional way of creating mystery and solemnity.”