An intimate journey through the work, life and character of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto – one of the 20th century’s greatest modern designers.
From the breakthroughs of his Paimio Sanitorium, lauded Artek furniture, and 1938 exhibition at MoMA, we accompany the architect over his 50 year career, as the world changes around him. A treasure trove of archival material – including Aalto’s own letters and unseen home movies – is combined with the reflections of experts and visits to landmark buildings, to tell the story of the master of human-centred modernism.
But as this film illuminates, there was more than one Aalto. Alvar’s two wives, architects Aino and Elissa, his partners in love and work, played key roles in the office’s creative output.
Through a combination of biography, an architectural tour, two love stories and Aalto’s own words and images, Aalto offers a cinematic portrait of an essential architect, and the web of passions from which his singular vision was woven.
Finland 2020 Dir Virpi Suutari 102 min
Curated by the Architecture Foundation
Barbican Cinema has been supported by the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England which is administered by the BFI, as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund supporting arts and cultural organisations in England affected by the impact of Covid-19. #HereForCulture.
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