Aalto buildings expose tension between beauty and practicality

Alvar Aalto’s buildings are praised for their design but criticised for practical difficulties, Yle reports. At the University of Jyväskylä, toilets are too small for modern fixtures and some spaces are inaccessible to wheelchair users, while Finlandia Hall’s marble slabs have buckled and detached from its walls.

The University of Jyväskylä campus, designed by Aalto in the 1950s, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Maintaining its mainly red brick buildings requires a balance between conservation and modern use.

Sanna Sianoja, chief executive of Suomen Yliopistokiinteistöt, which owns the university buildings, said the university’s operations had changed considerably since Aalto’s time.

“When operations change, the buildings also need to be renovated. The environment must still be respected,” she said.

Sianoja described Aalto as experimental. She said accessibility was one of the problems at the university buildings, which contain many stairs. In her view, Aalto would probably allow changes if he could be consulted today.

Small toilets and buckling marble

At the university’s main building, the toilets are extremely cramped. Tommi Lindh, chief executive of the Aalto Foundation, said toilets in the 1950s were fitted with high-level cisterns, placing the seat 20 to 30 centimetres closer to the rear wall.

Modern toilets take up more space than the original fixtures. The main building was renovated in the 2010s, but the toilets were not enlarged.

At Finlandia Hall, Carrara marble began to buckle and detach from the walls within a few years of the building’s completion in 1971. Before the latest renovation, various facade materials were studied and tested for several years in weather-exposed models on the building’s roof.

Alternatives included Finnish granite, glass, different types of concrete and other marbles. Lasa marble was selected for its appearance and durability. It is expected to withstand Finnish weather conditions better than its predecessors, for up to 50 years.

The brick surface of the Lakeuden Risti tower has deteriorated. Lindh said it was difficult to build masonry tower structures in local weather conditions without some deterioration. The tower is notably high and exposed to wind, and its renovation would require innovative engineering solutions that are not yet available.

The tower, Seinäjoki’s most important landmark, has had to be repaired at least every five years.

The council chamber at Säynätsalo Town Hall is very dim. Lindh said the subdued atmosphere and indirect, relatively low lighting were intentional, although they could be overly atmospheric for some events.

Ideas for making the room more versatile have included adding more lighting and making the councillors’ tables movable. Both options would be difficult to implement in a protected interior, and no solution has yet been found.

The boat Nemo propheta in patria also took water over the side in waves. Lindh said the boat’s seaworthiness was the subject of several stories and that the weight of its large engine affected its stability and handling.