Where: Helsinki, Finland
When: May 19, 2012
With: Nic
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, or just Alvar Aalto, has been considered among one of the greatest 20th-century architects. He's designed everything from buildings to furniture to textiles. The majority of his work in the 1930s and 1940s, and at the time, his modern style was considered revolutionary. And being that he's from Finland, some of his work is still on display today.
The first building of his that we saw in Helsinki was The Savoy. Apparently, one of his trademarks when designing a building was that he didn't stop at the exterior, but would fully design the interior of a building as well. The Savoy is one of the finest examples of this. It is a restaurant, still in operation, that he designed from the inside out, right down to the light fixtures.
We tried to go in to make a reservation, but while Aalto's designs may be "organic", his uniquely designed restaurant operates at a...higher class. Located on the 8th floor of the high rise, Nic and I did not exactly blend with the elegant 1937 interior, with our my giant cameras, windbreakers, and my Converse sneakers.
If I hadn't noticed by this point that we didn't exactly "fit in", the ever so "helpful" host and hostess made sure to bring it to our attention. Nic and I walked up and asked if they had any availability for a reservation that night...they didn't even look down at their bookings, they just stared back at us, arms folded, and responded with a very cold "No, so sorry." Fine, we asked if there was anything available for lunch the next day. "No, we're closed." Finally, they started with "...well, I can check to see if there is anything available for Monday...." to which we had to reply that we wouldn't be there Monday. The most enthusiasm we received from them was the subsequent "Oh dear, we're so sorry to hear you won't be in the city longer" as they ushered us back to the elevators, pressed the button for us, and waved us goodbye as the doors were closing.
As a result of this quick departure from the restaurant, I only snapped this one picture of the outside of the building. Nic and I spent the rest of the evening devising ways to create a Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman moment where we walk back in there to show them they made a "BIG mistake" not letting us eat there.
The second building of Alvar Aalto's I did not know was his until I did research when I got home. This church that was next to our hotel ("our church" as Nic and I endearingly called it) had a big white cubic building in front of it. Nic and I spent 10 minutes trying to find a way to take this picture without the ugly modern building being in the way. As you can see, Nic tried utilizing his best balancing skills to accomplish this.
Upon returning home, I learned this architetural "sore thumb" was actually the only other Aalto building that we saw while there.
So that was our experience with Alvar Aalto's architecture in Helsinki. For the rest of our trip in Helsinki, click here.
When: May 19, 2012
With: Nic
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, or just Alvar Aalto, has been considered among one of the greatest 20th-century architects. He's designed everything from buildings to furniture to textiles. The majority of his work in the 1930s and 1940s, and at the time, his modern style was considered revolutionary. And being that he's from Finland, some of his work is still on display today.
The first building of his that we saw in Helsinki was The Savoy. Apparently, one of his trademarks when designing a building was that he didn't stop at the exterior, but would fully design the interior of a building as well. The Savoy is one of the finest examples of this. It is a restaurant, still in operation, that he designed from the inside out, right down to the light fixtures.
We tried to go in to make a reservation, but while Aalto's designs may be "organic", his uniquely designed restaurant operates at a...higher class. Located on the 8th floor of the high rise, Nic and I did not exactly blend with the elegant 1937 interior, with our my giant cameras, windbreakers, and my Converse sneakers.
If I hadn't noticed by this point that we didn't exactly "fit in", the ever so "helpful" host and hostess made sure to bring it to our attention. Nic and I walked up and asked if they had any availability for a reservation that night...they didn't even look down at their bookings, they just stared back at us, arms folded, and responded with a very cold "No, so sorry." Fine, we asked if there was anything available for lunch the next day. "No, we're closed." Finally, they started with "...well, I can check to see if there is anything available for Monday...." to which we had to reply that we wouldn't be there Monday. The most enthusiasm we received from them was the subsequent "Oh dear, we're so sorry to hear you won't be in the city longer" as they ushered us back to the elevators, pressed the button for us, and waved us goodbye as the doors were closing.
As a result of this quick departure from the restaurant, I only snapped this one picture of the outside of the building. Nic and I spent the rest of the evening devising ways to create a Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman moment where we walk back in there to show them they made a "BIG mistake" not letting us eat there.
The second building of Alvar Aalto's I did not know was his until I did research when I got home. This church that was next to our hotel ("our church" as Nic and I endearingly called it) had a big white cubic building in front of it. Nic and I spent 10 minutes trying to find a way to take this picture without the ugly modern building being in the way. As you can see, Nic tried utilizing his best balancing skills to accomplish this.
Upon returning home, I learned this architetural "sore thumb" was actually the only other Aalto building that we saw while there.
So that was our experience with Alvar Aalto's architecture in Helsinki. For the rest of our trip in Helsinki, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment