Alvar Aalto exhibition in Zagreb
"Architecture to Read", the exhibition of the most famous Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto, is shown at the Croatian Museum of Architecture in Zagreb (HAZU) on September 22 - October 24.
The work of Alvar Aalto (1898 - 1976), one of the most influential architects of Modernism and the International Style, includes a considerable number of libraries. The exhibition "Architecture to Read" presents all Aalto's library designs, both built and not built. The exhibition is open every day 11:00-18:00 at the Croatian Museum of Architecture (ul. I. Gorana Kovacica 37).
During the Days of Oris, on Sunday, October 24th, prof. Vilhem Helander from Finland will have a presentation on Aalto's work under the title "Aalto’s different periods — a tool for underestanding his works?"
The exhibition that is currently in Zagreb gives some idea of Alvar Aalto's design process and the way his ideas progressed from his first library design in 1924 to his last proposal in 1974, which was never built. During those 50 years a change can be seen from Classicism through International Modernism to Post-Modernism.
Stylistic diversions, such as Minimalism and Expressionism, can also be discerned in Aalto's libraries, but on the whole they form a clear and logical development curve. Aalto created recurring themes in the interior landscape of his libraries, sunken spaces and natural lighting using reflective surfaces.
The exhibition comprises 10 library designs that were built and 9 that were not built plus another two designs that are essentially linked to libraries — the Academic Bookstore building in Helsinki and the 'Poetry Room' interior in the Lamont library at Harvard University.
The exhibition includes photographs, models and original drawings and there is a full descriptive catalogue.
The exhibition has been organised by the Alvar Aalto Museum and is being implemented in cooperation with the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and the Haute Ecole d'Arts Appliqués de Genève. The exhibition is brought to Zagreb in a cooperation with the Museum of Architecture, National Library, Oris Magazine and the Embassy of Finland.
The exhibition was shown at the first time in the Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva. Later on it has been shown in Brussels, Ancona, Roma, Warzaw, Poznan, Bialystok, Vaasa, St. Petersburg, Vyborg, Moscow, Ankara and Istabul. From Zagreb the exhibition continues to Tallinn, Estonia.
Alvar Aalto Museum(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Oris Magazine(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Croatian Museum of Architecture(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)