But path to that simplicity is usually not so straight forward one might expect.

During the creative process, House Z, its concept, its shape, its floor plan and placement,… went thru many phases before it evolved to the present state.

Thru the photo blog bellow, I’d like to share with you at least a part of this fantastic and enlightening journey, my clients and me traveled over the past year…

Looking forward to start building it :)

Juicy Salif, citrus-squeezer designed by Philippe Starck, produced by Alessi

I guess, architects would be in big trouble, if there would not be for a feminine part of the usual clients’ duo.

Men, for most cases, are rational functionalists. They easily identify with a famous Louis Sullivan’s quote: “Form follows function”.

Farnsworth House designed by Mies van der Rohe derives its aesthetic from its functional form purified to the maximum.

Function is, more or less, easy to define.
It could be explained.
Or it could be debated about and rationalized with an argument.

That is, why many men find it so convenient.
Something solid.
Something they could always count for, to be there for them to lean on in case of doubt, confusion and uncertainty.
Something, which ensures, that their world of decision making, remains a known, familiar, measurable place.

Feelings, emotions, aesthetics,… on the other hand, are much harder to comprehend on the conscious level.
They are much harder to express.
Even harder to argue about, or prove them right or wrong with an argument.
But the fact is that, all that, doesn’t make them any less real!

And this is the moment when women prove their true strength and usually make a huge contribution to the project. By being much more intuitive than an average men, they are more accustomed to think about and willing to accept some creative, innovative ideas, that are, at the first glance, beyond ratio, logic and are hard to be proven by argument.

Architecture ia a beautiful mixture of engineering science and art. That is what makes it so demanding, tough to master, but on the other hand, so satisfying and, in case of good architecture, admired and long lasting.

There is no doubt, architecture has to satisfy its occupants functional needs. Keep one dry, warm, safe, enable us to work, have fun,… If there is no functional component included, its is not a building any more – we could only speak about the sculpture then.

Therefore an architect must take a great care in order to ensure, that the building would perform in accordance to its functional demands. What is, due to its immeasurable, improvable nature, often forgotten is, that a good design could and should also count as a feature. An important one, I’d say.

Marie Short House designed by Glenn Murcutt, derives its beauty from being attuned to a place.

But approaching the architecture – or anything for that matter – only from the functional point of view, robes it of many other aspects.

Aspects, that are not so easily defined. Aspects which, in order to be recognized on the conscious level, require one to expand one’s narrow, rational point of view, to become much more open minded and sensitive for more subtle array of senses.

A building, that satisfies functional demands, could prove to be a good architecture as well. It could, and in most cases is, also good looking, since a clarified functions could derives great aesthetic values. But primarily, it is an emotional aspect of the building, of the space, that makes it an excellent living or working environment.

Designing something extremely beautiful is not excessive. Beautiful, romantic, carefully hand carved inscription on the public toilet building designed Richard Leplastrier.

Is it the story it is telling?
Its parti?
Its soul, if you wish?

I’d say, that in a quality architecture, all that, seamlessly merges into a superb user experience.

That is why, I am sometimes – on rare occasions but still – ready to compromise on minor functional, but never on an emotional aspect of the building I am designing.

I have designed a House A, to clearly expresses its parti, with a 45 m (148 feet) long ‘defense’ stone wall which divides the space into a public, closed, cold, noisy part near the road and intimate courtyard on the sunny side facing the valley.

p.s.

I am fortunate, that a male parts of my clients’ duo are defying the stats and constantly prove to know when & how to be subtle as well. At least in most cases ;)

And here is what we saw…

…this photo blog represents just one, of many possible, point of view…

Since those two weeks of July, 2011, I have spent down under, proved to be one of the most significant and pleasurable weeks and a pivotal point of my life, when I started to write, I instantly got carried away. And I ended with triple the size of the maximum amount of text. As I usually do!
Therefore I have to rewrite it completely…
But on the other hand, I kind of like how the original story turned out since I find it quite readable. So therefore, I have decided to post it in my Scrapbook anyway since my readers are used to read my long posts :)

…

“Dear passengers! This is your captain speaking. We are about to…” Words from the invisible speakers drift away as I settle comfortably in into the chair preparing for 12 hours long flight Dubai. A few minutes ago we have taken off from Sydney international airport leaving Australia for a while. ‘Not forever.’ I made a silent resolution “Definitely not forever!”. As I close my eyes, my mind goes back to the past two weeks. ‘And what a two week they have been…’.
Images flash back.

Glenn explaining the concept and the designing process of the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Art Centre at Riversdale, where we spent first week of the master class.

Images of us – “the mob” as our Ozie colleagues and tutors sweetly named us – wandering around the Riversdale premises being observed anxiously by the kangaroos and wombats.

Mr. Wombat

Sitting leisurely on the grass at the very edge of the forest with our sketchbooks on our laps, fingers black from the charcoal, trying to capture the impressions and our feelings of that amazing place. Magnificent Shoalhaven river’s slow and steady flow. The beautiful shape of the Boyd’s Mountain – as we named it. Spotted gum trees being bent by the pleasant winter breeze…

Picturesque morning view from my room / bed at Boyd Art Centre. Object’s (trademark) recognizable side shades are clearly visible.

… and then, the scene in my head changes and I am transferred into the great hall of the Boyd’s Centre. We have spent the whole afternoon drawing, sketching, model making, debating.

Working inside the great hall of the Centre. It is me drawing on the floor… seems that our group had run out of the desk space.

Terrain model making goes bad. Sorry guys… I know it was a tragedy. But I simply had to do a snapshot of this event… for the archive.

The last group has just finished with the presentation of their daily progress. One by one, our tutors have commented their work – and Oh! – how valuable their comments have been… for all of us. Kind and sharp at the same time. Commending the good stuff, talking what could have been done differently, what other angle of view should be considered, scolding mildly but sternly when they felt we sidetracked, giving away their precious knowledge and rich expertise so openly… Their comments are so different… Like are they.

Brit (Andresen) is the only girl in town.

Nice, motherly, sharp minded figure, with the capacity to surprise and throw one of the balance and your out of one’s comfort zone by scolding you for your sloppy work, as non of her male colleagues could. And she would do that with such a low and calm voice it would take you a movement or two to realize that the her tone does not match the content of her words. But her crit always to the point of the matter – into the dead center – and it is that, that makes has such a treasure and a valuable to listen to.

Peter… huh! Peter (Stutchbury).

At age 57 (at that time) he is the youngest amongst the tutors. The “young fella” as uncle Max use to call him. Being the only one that actually runs an architectural studio with some employees, makes him the only entrepreneur between them. One could tell that he used to be somehow a different – different in which way is hard to tell – person in the past. But this days, he is all calm and peace and experience and sensitivity and attentiveness. And it seams that there is nothing on this world that would make him rise the volume of his voice or speak a bit faster. He has a waste experience to share. And he shares it so willingly.
Actually their will to pass their knowledge is one of attitudes that goes for all out tutors. The other would be respectfulness.

And so it happens that a “respect” would also be the word of a choice if one would try to summarize the uncle Max’s (Aboriginal elder Max Dulumunmun Harrison) teachings.

Uncle Max teaching us “reading the land”.

A respect for our mother nature, about which he happens to have a great deal of knowledge which has been passed for generations. The whole group of us “students” as well as the tutors hiked the surrounding of the Riversdale compound. And from time to time Max would stop, pointed on a plant or a tree or something – rarely naming it – and explained how it is supposed to be interpreted. Read it properly. He taught us the basic alphabet in order to be able to “read the land” as they used to call it. His asking for a permission… Asking a tree a permission to be touched, asking a grass permission to step on,… And encouraging us to do the same. It all looked a bit odd to us – westerns…, until we realized that it is actually awareness and respect he is talking about. Awareness of the space. The soft feel of the forest floor we were walking on, the texture of the moving leaves, the breeze of the wind,… Yes, nature talks to us quite openly, if only we are ready to listen.

And to be able to listen, you need to be quiet. Move slowly. Be open.

Richard (Leplastrier) is all that. And more. Much, much more.

Big fella. Almost two meters tall, his huge true-Australian-son-meets-Crocodil-Dundee appearance is in a great contrast with its soft and gentle poet’s soul. Ah… and what a gentle soul he is. Almost every crit he gave has been told in a form of a story. He was a pure pleasure to listen. To watch his slow but decisive gestures, his smile on a weather worn face. To observe from behind his broad shoulder – when he seated down since otherwise that would have been nearly impossible due to his height – how easily his hand flows over the paper, charcoal leaving a simple but yet exceptionally recognizable trace. How he wandered the premises… daydreaming… at ease with himself and with his surrounding.

Glenn (Murcutt) on the other hand, is a completely-different-but-yet-the-same type.

Being the oldest – “old fella” by uncle Max – and the most famous of them all, he gave a name, a trademark to this master class. And he and his lecture about the sweater was the reason I found myself down there in the first place.
“Nature is tough.”, he used to say. And he approached it with respect. And knowledge. He was all about sun azimuths and inclinations and flood planes and fires and materials and details and wind directions and… love. And effort. And passion. He was kind to us and yet strict. True fatherly figure one could not but love. And as one would sit beside him at the dinner, chatting about flying, planes, aerodynamics, places he has been, Slovenian words he memorized,… he is so relaxed, so open, so sincere, one would have a hard time to remember that one actually has a chance to chat with a Pritzker award winner and a world architectural celebrity.

Stewardess that is passing by picking up the once hot but know only cold wet towels changes the course of my thoughts again.

With crits finished, here we are cleaning our piles of trace paper and scotch tape and pencils and rulers aside and are rearranging the tables for the supper feast.
But regardless of the fact, that the meals are, without exception, delicious, it is after supper lecture that I wait for with anticipation. After a full and intensive day, leaning back on my chair with a beer or a glass of wine in my hand, following the slides and the lecture, one of the tutors gives ever evening is an experience worth every effort.

I remember how deeply touched I have been by the description of the site inauguration ceremony, Peter described during his lecture, when talking about the making-off process of their Wall House (Shizuoka, Japan).

I remember feel the revelation feeling that overwhelmed me during the Brit’s lecture, when, after looking at two of her houses thinking: ‘Ah, that is a bit disappointing! Why would one do something like that?’ all of a sudden, all the pieces of information felt into place and their architectural qualities become so transparent and obvious to me , I almost felt being touched physically by the experience.
I remember Richard’s gentle voice talking about his experience spending months in Japan sketching a temple. Experiencing it. Learning from it.
I remember Lindsay’s (Johnston) Four Horizons – one of two of his homes. Both out there. Off the grid. Hardly accessible.
Ah Lindsay :)

Lindsay Johnston

Lindsay playing his guitar and singing a genuine Irish songs.

The Irish by origin but 100% Australian today.
The men behind the GMMC. The initiator. The organizer. Although as well the exceptional architect himself, he chooses to stay in the background, in the shadow of the other tutors so one is easily deceived that he has nothing to say about the architecture. One could hardly be so much mistaken.
But since he sees his role mainly as an organizer it is not before after the formal session of the evening lecture, when feast slides into more relaxed water, when he takes his guitar into his hands and start a typical Irish tune, that he relaxes knowingly that yet another day of the event has passed successfully.

My only comment on this photo would be, that a keyword for it is “Cart Hill”. For those of you, who have been there… and survived… and remember it ;) …, you know what I am talking about. For all the others – this one is published on “no need to know basis”.

Awareness of a steady and quiet humming sound of the powerful engines that are pushing a huge bird-we-fly-in thru the thin air at 35.000 feet, awakes me once more. Quick glance on the map on the monitor is telling me, that we have almost crossed the smallest Earth continent and that form now on there are hours and hours of water ahead of us.

The map reminds me of the Google map on my cell phone, I used to track our first journey at GMMC. A few hours ago our group of about 40 meet at the designated point at Sydney airport. Never being good at names, I only managed to remember a few during our introduction – there would be plenty of time for that latter. Since we left Sydney area, small blip on the screen of my phone has been slowly traveling form the coast inland, penetrating a thin green ribbon that divides the cost from the waste pastel yellow-orange-reddish color of the inland Australia. Our anticipation about the experience ahead of us was filling the inside of the bus. We were headed for Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Art Centre at Riversdale, where we were about to spend our first week. But our first stop was a visit at one of the houses designed by our tutors – one of the many we would see during the time we would spend at the GMMC.
Regarding the name of the master class, it was only properly that it was a Glenn’s house – Fredericks / White House. It was at that point that Glenn joined us. And it was at that time, that we first experience the warmth welcome of the owner of the house – the welcome which would repeat latter on without exception, at every house we have visited.
And we have seen many.

Endless Contour House by Peter Stutchbury, with its descriptive name and interesting niches and lines to peek into bathroom.

Off-the-grid Bangaley House by Peter Stutchbury, with its fantastic collection of Aboriginal art.

Inside the Bangalay House

Point House by Peter Stutchbury, with huge, counterweighted sliding doors was the one I liked the least but was still under construction at the time of our visit.

On the other hand it is Peter’s Cliff Face House that proved to be one of the most beautiful houses I have ever been in.

Beautiful, romantic Leura House by Richard Leplastrier, which thru usage of boat technologies expresses Richard’s love for them and where you find out what is a truly tranquil space is supposed to look like.

Romantic interior of Leura House.

Georges Head Lookout by Richard Leplastrier is an outdoor space furnished like a room but not quite like it,… hmmm! well it is kind of hard to explain. It is a place from where one is offered a magnificent view over Sydney skyline.

Nearby public toilet also made by Richard Leplastrier is, regardless of its profound function, a true architectural gem full of details.

Simpson-Lee House by Glenn Murcutt is a well known classic where we have been welcomed by Glenn and his wife Wendy – also an architect.

Around the Simpson-Lee House in its open configuration.

Completing the list, I am not to forget Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Art Centre at Riversdale by Glenn Murcutt, which is undaubtly one of the highlights amongst the Glenn’s projects. We have been privileged to be able to spent a whole week living, working, learning and partying there.

And last, but not least, the house which explained what Glenn meant with a comment that “Richard’s houses are tough to live in.” It was a happy and sad day at the same time, when we have been invited to Richard’s family house at Lovett Bay for a farewell picnic.

Picnic at Richard’s place

Rough and beautiful, experimental, made out almost entirely of plywood, the Lowett Bay House, with its outdoor kitchen and its outdoor bathroom – if one could call a Japanese style wooden box bath a bathroom – definitely is one of a kind. It slaps you straight into the face but do it in a kind of gentle way. And by doing that, it makes you erase almost every dos and donts you have learn about designing a house and force you to think the whole thing over again.
Just watching their family living style there, his sons running barefooted all over the place it makes you kind of slightly ashamed, how much we tend to overcomplicate things.

“Ping!”
“Fasten your seat belts!” sign illuminates while the crew announces a slight turbulence. If there is any air disturbance outside, I am certainly not aware of it. It must be some super-high-tech-stabilizing-device or it is simply a sheer mass of the plane, that prevents us on the plan to feel it.

But there certainly is a turbulence in my head since my mind rewinds the memories from the farewell picnic backwards. Second week that we have spent in Sydney was a true roller coaster. Working intensively for 12-16 hours a day makes it much more blurry in my memory and it seems like it was much shorter that the first one. Our small groups of four have been reinforced with students of architecture an so Jenny (Colorado), Carla (Philippines), Francesco (Italy – one would never guess ;) and me (Slovenia) have been accompanied by a modest Irish guy (I forgot his name), entrepreneurial Australian girl (unfortunately I forgot her name too) and Alison from Tasmania with impossibly beautiful and orderly maintained sketchbook.

Our group at work @Carriageworks, Sydney

They were supposed to offer us any help we might need with model making, drawings, etc. And they did so – so willingly. So enthusiastically. They jumped at the opportunity to be able to work with us, listen to the crits and they were pure pleasure to work with.
Regardless of all the help, final presentation, as usually, still managed to arrive much to early and so once again, I have had to persuade myself, that in this case, it is the process that matters most.

Yet another group prepares for the final presentation @Carriageworks, Sydney

Team photo of our group with our dedicated helpers and dear tutors @Carriageworks, Sydney

And about the architectural design process, we learned a great deal. Although architectural solutions we have seen are mainly not transferable due to different climate, places, regulations, lifestyle, etc., it is the process that stays almost the same. Either one is building in a wilderness or in the middle of metropolis, single family house or a huge office building or a factory for that matter… the basics of the design process stay fundamentally the same.
Just being able to spent two weeks with the fantastic tutors, who were more than willing to share their knowledge and the expertise, was a huge privilege by itself.
Many close friendships have been formed which resulted into a waste global network of the fellow architects. And after the end the master class, the network expanded even further thru connecting to GMMC Alumnis all over the world via Facebook, Flickr, email, etc.

One of the rare occasions during the second week of the masterclass, when we managed so allocate some time for a proper supper.

‘Was it worth it?’ The question arisen in my mind while we were landing at Dubai Int. Airport and instantly I knew the answer without a slightest sign of doubt:
‘Yes! It was! More than worthy!’
And now, almost one and the half year after the event, the answer stays as strong and clear as it was back then. GMMC proved to be an experience that goes deep into ones soul. The experience that serves as an inspiration and motivates me even now. A true life changer.

Does names such as Moroso, Alessi, Kartell, Vitra, etc. ring any bells?
Does your heart beat speed up (not because of a high price tag!) while you come across some design peace of furniture?
Does a well designed working and living space inspire you?
Do you choose Apple products over any other regardless of the tech specs?
Do you rather wait for years, save money and buy nothing that opt to compromise with a design?
Do you constantly have a lack of space for new design products?

If you have answered mostly “no“, you could stop reading. This blog is not for you. You might even get irritated by it. So STOP! Stop reading it! I’ll write another one, soon enough.
…
But if you have mostly answered “yes“, you are definitely one of those irrational passionate weirdoes, to whom being surrounded with a design and beauty is simply a necessity. For you, every design piece you acquire is not just a functional peace of furniture. You know its history. You know its soul. It inspires you.
And when a time come, that you say goodbye to some of those – and inevitably, from time to time, that time comes – then it is not an easy task. But nevertheless it is a task that needs to be done. And in that cases, you sincerely hope, that they would end up somewhere, where they would be appreciated at least as much as you appreciated them.

For us (me and Alenka) that time has come now. There is simply not enough space left and since one could not seat on five chairs at once, we have decided to let some of them go and find them another home. So there is your chance, to get a hand on some top design pieces of furniture at (almost – but not quite – yet sill much cheaper than in a retail) affordable price.

Amoeba Highback is the jewel of the collection. Designed by the Danish designer Verner Panton, more widely known as the author of the famous Living Tower, this is a beautiful piece of furniture, that could not go unnoticed. It softly embraces one, who choose to sit inside, and keep it safe, detached from the outer world, floating inside his own creative balloon. The temptation to keep it is enormous, so the price is set to 1.000€.

Vitra probably needs no special introduction amongst the design furniture adicts. Swiss (Basel) based office furniture company, dedicates all its efforts to develop healthy, intelligent, inspiring and durable solutions for the office, the home and for public spaces. That every piece they produce is also a design masterpiece and a collectors, one could take for granted. The price tags on their products are definitely not low by anyone’s standards. But since they are easily matched by the quality of Vitra’s products, one could safely say, that he or she is not that rich to buy cheap. And one would be dead right on that one.

Vitra’s Worknest office chairs have been designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. With greyish green fabric and orange / violet accents – two & two – on the hand holders, they have had served as a working chairs in Kaaita’s manufacture. They have witnessed many long & sleepless nights, when they have literally supported the creation of a numerous beautiful products from Kaaita’s collection. We would just love to keep them somewhere at home, but for the moment, another eternal Vitra’s chairs (Meda chairs) are still serving us well. So finally, we decided that it is only right to find them new home. 700€ a piece or 2.700€ if you choose to adopt all four of them.

Beside more widely known Kaaita Dating (“Kaaita randi”), Kaaita’s office has, for long five years, served as a center of creativity. Designers, copywriters, architects, manufacturers,… have always appreciated the creative environment it offered. Meetings have been usually held in the first room, where they gathered around the beautiful antique round table.

Four modern, high tech and ultra comfortable Vitra’s Eams Plastic Chairs in cream white colour, proved to be a perfectly chosen addition to it. I am quite sure, that sooner or latter, I would design another interior to feature this beautiful chairs. But for now, heart breaking as it is, we have decided to let go. Since they are a family, you could only get all four together for 600€. Eight complementary, custom made pillows in black (bottom) / dark violet (top) colour, you get as a bonus.

Kartell is yet another company, one devoted to top design products, could not not know. Amongst fierce competition at its homeland (Italy) and worldwide, Kartell is undoubtedly the leader in the wide niche of plastic furniture. Since the design flows in it veins, there is no wonder that they frequently cooperate with a design celebrities such as unorthodox and controversial Frenchman Phillipe Starck, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Ron Arad, Feruccio Laviani, etc.

The later designed the breakthrough FL/Y lamp which, when it come out, has been featured on the front page of almost every Kartell publication, interior showcase,… No less that eight of them – all in discrete black – has been trusted to bring light into the Kaaita’s headquarters and they did the job, we entrusted them, perfectly. Now, that the office has been abandoned and replaced by a warehouse, to meet the present company’s needs, they are ready to enlighten some other’s world. 80€ a piece / 300€ if you choose to take at least four. But since especially in numbers, they mad truly superb interior, for one with an appropriate flat or office, there is no need to resist temptation – 560€ for all eight lamps is a true bargain, a true design addict could not resist. And one even gets three spare bulbs in the package.

Ron Arad’s Bookworm is another Kartell product – almost a classic. It comes in three different lengths and five different colours. Combined with the infinite number of possible shapes and configurations it assures that your creative soul could grow wings and that you could mount it to perfectly match your place and soul. (Un)fortunately, this worm has already find a new owner – our dear friend jumped on an opportunity and made sure, she would not run out of the book space soon.

Regardless of the fact if you are a true design fun /addict or just have an affection for beautiful design, no jump to Amstardam would be complete without a visit to Droog store. And once you are there, there is no way, you would leave the place without buying at least a peace or two. To spare you the trouble, we went there for you so that we could provide you with a little something from Droog.

Their Sticky Lamp looks like it would have been planted into the electric socket. Simple and uniquely designed – typical Droog style serves more as a extravagant room decoration or a gag in kid’s room, than as a functional lightning. But who says that everything needs to be fully functional. We offer a bucket of four for 50€.

A Strap is another Droog design product – this one fully functional for a change. Picture tells everything so you could make use of them (four, white) for 45€.

A little piece of garden has been set up, in front of Kaaita’s entrance, in a beautiful and elegant polyester pottery by Domani from Belgium. Since it is truly a remarkable piece that fits more than well also on our home terrace, we haven’t full decided yet, if we should sell it or not. If you are interested to buy it for 250 €, just let us know, and we would think about it.

And since we started with office furnitures, we would also conclude this little sales list with it. The last piece is a true relic since it has served almost twenty years as an office chair for CEO of Hal interactive. A true king amongst the office chairs produced by Wilkhahn. But since every end means also a new beginning, it feels just right to let it go. Extremely comfortable with unprecedented ergonomic features, it is a perfect fit for a rare breed of top management executives who truly admire a superb design. A bit worn out, but still fully functional, its price starts at no less than 1.500€. If does not go, I would not regret it and would gladly enjoy sitting on it for another twenty years.

Therefore, when an opportunity arose to design a house there, I jumped on it.

Regardless, that I have been in the area on many occasions and that I have visited a site with the clients, I felt like I need to pay it another visit – alone – in order to fully immerse into the place.

That way this sketch & photo blog was created. No particular topic – just impressions…

Coming out of the road turn, out of nowhere, this typical Carst home appeared. Beautiful composition of stone buildings with slated roofs. Stone wall embraces the inner courtyard which is accessible via emphasized gate.

Hundred meters ahead – in the village – cute little church (the one on the photo of the blog title picture), all made by stone. I particularly liked the accompanying house which complements it.

Slated roof of the church.

Window on the accompanying house, shaded by a nearby palm tree – not typical for a region.

Other type of architecture. But by no means less impressive. A small vineyard – one of many in the region.

Wandering around the village, I found those door that have, no doubt, seen better days. But an stone arch shape – interestingly flat – and beautiful, worn out, wooden texture, attracted my attention.

House in the middle of the “Y” crossroad would get a full blast of a negative energy from the traffic, if it wouldn’t have been for this cute old walnut tree to protect her.

… and an apple tree – no special comment on that one. I just kind of like it :)

Hope to return soon…

We have been working on some competition project and I have used every minute, I was able to spare, to browse thru enormous pile of architectural books our mentor and employer – architect Janez Lajovic, kept in his studio. It has been during one of those breaks, away from the drawing desk, that I come across the thin booklet of Alvar Aalto works. I have to admit, that I have not been throughout impreseed by (all) his works. But nevertheless something about his buildings have drawn my attention. At the time, I was not sure what it was. But from today’s point of view, I’d say it has been a kind of simplicity – not a Mies-vad-der-Rohe-like simplicity but some other special kind – Aalto’s simplicity, I must have been attracted to. His choice of the usage of natural materials. A feeling for volume composition as well as his attention for the detail. His effort not to complicate things, expressed thru his imperfections which – ironicaly – made his buildings even more perfect… it must have been all that combined that arouse the attention of a young architect-to-be.
From that time, I have always kept an eye open for the opportunity to go and see his opus first-hand. And finaly, almost a quarter of the century and after many money / time / famil / work / … obstacles, the opportunity presented itself this summer in a form of Alvar Aalto Symposium (maybe more about the event itself in some other blog post).

Town Hall in Säynätsalo

We (Alenka and me) opted to bike 40 km from Jyväskylä to Aalto’s Experimental House on Muuratsalo island. And since we have had some time to spare before a group tour, we stopped at Säynätsalo first to visit a Town Hall designed by Aalto (built in 1953).

Beautiful volume composition. Red brick cladding proves to give the building a sense of modesty as well as creates a pleasant contrast to the natural surrounding.

Beautiful and tranquil open and publicly accessible courtyard and side-placed main entrance does not communicate that the building and its occupants are governing the town but rather serve it.

Modest, brick cladded hall, beautifully lighted by natural as well as artificial lightning.

Delicate wooden patchwork on the elevated window of the main hall, acts almost as a textile and provides a soft lightning throughout the space. One could not miss another typical alto’s detail – top down light at the back of the hall in order to provide light for back seats as well while not making the main space to big from inside as well as acquiring a perfect exterior composition of volumes from the outside. This particular lightning also proves to be an example, how Aalto managed to derive multiple benefits from one solution.

Aalto’s Experimental House on Muuratsalo island

Due to my poor trip planning, we almost missed the opportunity to visit Aalto’s Experimental House. Fortunately, my charm (or persistence ;) worked and girls at Alvar Aalto Museum at Jyväskylä agreed to form additional group for us.

Beside the famous boat, the smoke sauna is the first object one encounters on a way to the Experimental House. Still in use today by Aalto’s family, this plain simple object, designed by Aalto himself and placed about 90 meters (300 feet) away from the main building in the midst of the woods, is hardly something one anticipates to see on his way to the one of the most well know buildings of the one of the most renown world architects. Only after giving it another thought it becomes clear that it is only logical; why to complicate things which are not complicated. Typical Aalto.

Approach to the Experimental House (from smoke sauna). The house itself blends with the environment to the point of being almost invisible. Only by approaching it, it starts to reveal itself.

Modest main entrance and simplified steps – another trademarks of Aalto.

The courtyard with an in-ground fireplace pit. Different experimental brick patterns – some layer by Aalto himself – add a distinct look & feel to this place. Being surrounded by the beautiful landscape, one wonders why Aalto choose to detach the occupants from all that beauty by enclose the courtyard allowing only two strictly moderated vistas. It took me a while to realize that the answer hides in the question itself. And by reaching that understanding, I finally understood one of the houses by Richard Leplastriere (one of the tutors at GMMC) presented to us at Glenn Murcutt Masterclass.

A surprise! A top down view review a fake brick tiling roof.

Alvar Aalto Studio in Helsinki

Two days later, we were peddling again. This time our destination has been a Helsinki outskirts, where Aalto’s House and Studio are located closely to each other. Without any planning, we have timed our arrival perfectly in order to join the only tour around the Alvar Aalto studio that day. Lucky us :)

Studio – beautifully designed building in the midst of the residential area. If I ever opt to expand my architectural practice, Aalto’s Studio in Helsinki would serve me as a role model of a working environment.

Main drawing room with its open space is today partly a museum but mostly still in use by Alvar Aalto Museum staff.

Aalto’s personal office form the back wall of the outer amphitheater. Two stories high (like in Experimental house as well as in his Helsinki House) features a balcony to observe the 3D models from the top and test the lamp prototype designes.

Stairs detail in Aalto’s personal office – by observing the whole composition of the place, one could tell that he just felt they should be shaped like this.

Top-down backlight again (like in the Town Hall) – this time to lit the exhibited plans in the meeting room.

Blueprints storage shelves form the pre hard drive / DVD era.

Innovative ceiling lightning that lights the place with warm soft diffuse light. No doubt it has been this lights that inspired Miguel Angel Ciganda to design his beautiful Veroca light.

As a big fan of the cinema, Aalto designate the courtyard of his Studio as an multifunctional natural amphitheater.

Alvar Aalto’s House in Helsinki

And yet another home… his own again … in Helsinki, in close vicinity of his Studio.

Modest main entrance and simplified steps… sounds familiar?

Aalto’s affection for corner windows is expressed also on this house where it it in a function to provide a light for his studio. Behind that window, Aalto’s drawing board is placed.

Dynamic, but always meaningful, volume composition is also present here, additionally emphasized by the usage of different materials and plants.

Being amidst the other houses, garden is more open in this case and closed courtyard concept abandoned. Nevertheless, the terrace on the first floor provides an intimate place for the house residents. Pay attention to the shape of the flower pots… looks familiar?

Neglected, worn off wooden facade or a facade that age gracefully. I’d opt for the later – but hey! … that’s only me.