Alvar Aalto Week celebrated in Rovaniemi with the new book Alvar Aalto Architect: Rovaniemi Centre

Arctic nature, tourism and Alvar Aalto’s urban design come together in Rovaniemi. The Arctic design sites of architect Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) are located in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle in Finland. Aalto and his studio participated in the reconstruction of what was then the market town of Rovaniemi, which had been almost completely destroyed during the so-called Lapland War in the 1940s. The famous Reindeer Antler Plan for Rovaniemi was created in 1945–46. Later, Aalto and his studio designed and built the Aho commercial buildings (1958–63), the Korkalorinne residential area (1956–61), the private house Maison Aho (1964–65) and the Civic Centre (1961–88), which includes the City Library (1961–65), Lappia Hall (1961–75) and the City Hall (1961–88).

The Arctic region and its future are a global focus of the world today. The monograph Alvar Aalto Architect: Rovaniemi Centre (Volume 25) is a topical, multidimensional review of Aalto’s designs for the Arctic region. The selection of articles has been edited by Aila Svenskberg from the Alvar Aalto Foundation. The foreword is by Ulla-Kirsikka Vainio, the Mayor of Rovaniemi. In her articles, architect and researcher Päivi Lukkarinen offers fascinating insights into Aalto's urban planning and central buildings of Rovaniemi. Alvar Aalto's own text from 1945 is still a fresh, topical, humanistic reflection on the devastation of war and post-war reconstruction. In his article, researcher Jussi Rautsi reflects more broadly on the Arctic regional planning, also as seen through the eyes of a contemporary – Rautsi himself worked for a long time in the Aalto studio and discussed these issues with architects Alvar and Elissa Aalto. In his article, architect Harri Hautajärvi expands his observations on Rovaniemi's urban planning to the history and current stages of tourism in Lapland.

The richly illustrated book includes a unique selection of original drawings and sketches from the Alvar Aalto Foundation archives. Photographer Maija Holma's photographs bring a fresh perspective to Alvar Aalto's architecture in Rovaniemi. The Works section of the book contains a selection of Alvar Aalto's other plans for the Arctic region. These include the completed Atri buildings in Kittilä and Nordic House in Reykjavik, as well as the unrealised projects for Kiruna City Hall and the Montreal city centre.

Alvar Aalto Architect – Rovaniemi Centre (Volume 25) is the 8th volume in the series to be published. Published by the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the English-language book, as well as the previous volumes, is available in selected sales outlets in both soft cover and hardback editions. For further information about the book and sales outlets, contact the Alvar Aalto Foundation. The presentation of the book will be arranged at Helsinki Book Fair. 
 

Further information:
Alvar Aalto Architect Volume 25: Rovaniemi Centre (152 pages, texts in English)Editor: Aila Svenskberg
Picture editors: Maija Holma, Marjo Holma, Anni Saastamoinen
Graphic design: Tiina Ekosaari
Translations: Gekko Design / Gareth Griffiths and Kristina Kölhi

Editorial board (2025):
Mia Hipeli, Chief Curator, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Nina Heikkonen, Programme Manager, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Tommi Lindh, Architect and CEO, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Timo Riekko, Chief Curator, Collections, Alvar Aalto Foundation
Aila Svenskberg, Editor, Alvar Aalto Foundation

Publisher: © Alvar Aalto Foundation, Helsinki 2025
Printer: Otava Publishing Company Ltd
ISBN 978-952-5498-87-5 (hardback)
ISBN 978-952-5498-88-2 (soft cover)