alvar aalto: experimental house (1952-53) by alvar aalto ................................................................................................................................................................................











experimental house (1952-53)
by alvar aalto


the muuratsalo experimental house is situated on the
eastern shore of the island of muuratsalo.
the L-shaped main building and walls enclose an internal
courtyard which opens towards the south and west,
across lake päijänne and the main approach route.
in the internal courtyard, the facade treatment of the
house changes from white-painted plastered walls to
red brick. the heart of the patio is formed by an open
fireplace in the centre of the courtyard.
the walls have been divided into about 50 panels which
have been finished with various different kinds of bricks
and ceramic tiles. the surface of the internal courtyard
has also been finished with different brick patterns,
in contrast to the rest of the site, which has been left
in its natural state.

the main experimental areas aalto mentioned were
- experimenting with building without foundations
- experimenting with free-form brick construction
- experimenting with free-form column structures
- experimenting with solar heating.

the experimental house functioned as a summer home
for the aalto family until 1994.
the furniture in the house is artek and designed by
alvar aalto. the alvar aalto museum takes care of building
and is organizing guided tours.

for more info:
see the pages of the alvar aalto foundation




experimental house



brickwork



courtyard



a view on the house today


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back to the exhibition
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