Quotes by Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer who is best known for his modernist approach to design and his commitment to creating functional, sustainable buildings and objects. His work is characterized by its use of natural materials, organic forms, and attention to detail, and his influence can be seen in the work of countless architects and designers who have been inspired by his vision. Aalto's legacy is one of innovation and creativity, and his commitment to making the world a better place through design is an inspiration to many. (Bio)
Alvar Aalto Quotes
Form must have a content, and that content must be linked with nature.
Beauty is the harmony of purpose and form.
Objects are made to be completed by the human mind.
The ultimate goal of the architect...is to create a paradise. Every house, every product of architecture... should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people.
Human life is a combination of tragedy and comedy. The shapes and designs that surround us are the music accompanying this tragedy and this comedy. (Meaning)
Nothing is as dangerous in architecture as dealing with separated problems. If we split life into separated problems we split the possibilities to make good building art.
We should work for simple, good, undecorated things, but things which are in harmony with the human being and organically suited to the little man in the street.
True architecture exists only where man stands in the center.
Nothing old is ever reborn, but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been [born], will always reappear in a new form.
Modern architecture does not mean the use of immature new materials; the main thing is to refine materials in a more human direction.
Building art is a synthesis of life in materialised form. We should try to bring in under the same hat not a splintered way of thinking, but all in harmony together.
Architecture belongs to culture, not to civilization.
I tell you, it is easier to build a grand opera or a city center than to build a personal house.
God created paper for the purpose of drawing architecture on it. Everything else is at least for me an abuse of paper.
It is the task of the architect to give life a gentler structure.
The most difficult problems are naturally not involved in the search for forms for contemporary life. It is a question of working our way to forms behind which real human values lie.
The very essence of architecture consists of a variety and development reminiscent of natural organic life. This is the only true style in architecture
I do not write, I build.
We should work for simple, good, undecorated things
Architecture is not merely national but clearly has local ties in that it is rooted in the earth.
Even the smallest daily chore can be humanized with the harmony of culture.
In almost every task involving form, there are dozens, often hundreds of contradictory elements, which need to be forced to work in harmony by man's will. This harmony can be acheived only through art.
The best standardisation committee in the world is nature herself, but in nature standardisation occurs mainly in connection with the smallest possible units: cells. The result is millions of flexible combinations in which one never encounters the stereotyped.
Just as it takes time for a speck of fish spawn to develop into a fully grown fish, so, too, we need time for everything that develops and crystallizes in the world of ideas. Architecture demands more of this time than other creative work.
Our time is so specialised that we have people who know more and more or less and less.
― Alvar Aalto Quotes
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Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
