Comparison and Contrast of Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier

This research paper aims to present two well-known architects of the 20th century, namely Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier. First, it will provide background information on the two architects. Second, it will discuss their works, with emphasis given on one masterpiece of each architect. Lastly, it will compare and contrast the two architects.

Alvar Aalto, whose real name is Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, is a Finn who is well-known for redesigning and remodeling furniture and public edifices, with a basic foundation in the relationship between man, nature, and building. In Scandinavian countries, he is referred to as the “Father of Modernism” (“Biography of Alvar Aalto”). During the 20th century, he evolved as the most important architect and became the central figure in international modernism (“Alvar Aalto”).

Born on February 3, 1898, in Kuortane, Finland, Alvar Aalto was the first child of Johan Henrik Aalto, a government surveyor, and Selma Hackstedt, who died in 1903. In 1907, his father remarried, and the family moved to the central Finnish city of Jyvaskyla. Alvar attended the Normal School and the Classical Lyceum (“Alvar Aalto: Architect Biography”) and graduated in 1916. From 1916 to 1921, he studied at the Helsinki University of Technology, where he obtained his degree in architecture. In one of his college years, he worked on the design of the Tivoli area with Carolus Lindberg for the 1920 National Fair. During that epoch, he became a protégé of Armas Lingren, during the formative period of Romanticism in Finnish national architecture (“Biography of Alvar Aalto”).

Aalto reveals in his works a well-made and carefully crafted balance of intricate and complex forms, elements, and spaces that unleash a traditionalism anchored in the cultural heritage and environment of Finland (“Alvar Aalto: Architect Biography”). His early works are mixed with neoclassical ideas and the International style. Afterward, Aalto’s constructions are then characterized by asymmetry, curved walls, and multifaceted textures. Nevertheless, his passion for painting led to the progression of his unique architectural style wherein cubism and collage have been the essential elements in his works.

Some of his significant buildings are the White Guards Headquarters (1920), Paimio Tuberculosis Sanatorium (1927-1935), Baker House (1946-1949), Institute of Technology (1949-1966), Lakeuden Risti Church (1957-1960), Enzo-Gutzeit Headquarters (1959-1962), Seinajoki Town Hall (1962-1965), and Finlandia Hall (1967-75) (Craven).

Aalto has rapidly proved himself as the master of International Style. In line with this, his Paimio Sanatorium has been acclaimed as an international major achievement (“Alvar Aalto: An Appreciation”).

Paimio Sanatorium is the first building designed by Aalto. It is entirely furnished with its own factory-made furniture. The spread of tuberculosis in Finland during the war became the reason for its construction, and Paimio was chosen as the location for the sanatorium. A competition was held for its design, which was resolved and completed at the end of January 1929. Aalto’s entry in the competition was a building grouped in a neo-classical manner that possessed sun balconies illustrating a modern architectural approach (“Paimio Sanatorium”). Today, the edifice is part of the University of Turku Central Hospital. The emphasized concrete frame construction is fully revealed and exploited aesthetically, and the furniture inside the building is designed by Aalto and his wife. One of the most notable pieces of furniture is the Paimio chair (“Paimio Sanatorium: Alvar Aalto”).

On the other hand, Le Corbusier is considered the 20th century’s most influential, most admired, and most maligned architect. His writings and constructions have been essential elements and players in modern history (“Le Corbusier”). He was born Charles Edouard Jeanneret in LaChaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on the 6th of October, 1887. He is the second child of Edouard Jeanneret and Madame Jeannerct-Perret, a dial painter and a musician and piano teacher, respectively (“Le Corbusier: Architect Biography”). His education was influenced by Charles l’Epplattenier, a teacher at the local art school, whom Le Corbusier referred to as “My Master.” L’Epplattenier involved his students in watch manufacturing, where the students were asked to search for a new kind of ornament expression of the Jura landscape (Gans, Corbusier, Plattus 29).

When he was thirteen years old, Le Corbusier apprenticed as an engraver, and later on abandoned watchmaking due to his weak and sensitive eyesight, which still afflicted him during his adulthood (Gans, Corbusier, Plattus 29). However, he continued his study of art and ornamentation and dreamed of becoming a painter. His Master, however, insisted he studies architecture too and arranged his first commissions (“Le Corbusier: Architect Biography”). He was trained as an artist and traveled extensively in Germany and the East. He studied in Paris under Auguste Perret, absorbing the artistic and cultural life of the city. It was during this era that he developed an interest in the synthesis of different arts. In 1920, he adopted the name Le Corbusier (Matthews).

Le Corbusier’s early works are linked to nature, but his ideas matured. He designed and developed Maison-Domino, an edifice for mass production with free-standing pillars and rigid floors. In 1917, he settled in Paris and issued his first book, Vers Une Architecture (Towards a New Architecture), which was anchored on his earlier articles in L’Esprit Nouveau (Matthews).

Le Corbusier had many works and designs, including the Villa Savoye (1929-1930), Atelier Ozenfant (1922-1923), Carpenter Center for Visual Arts (1959-1962), Centre Le Corbusier (1963-1967), Cite du Refuge (1929-1933), Notre Dame du Haut (1950-1954), and Pavillon du Bresil (1959). Villa Savoye is the most well-known house in the realm of modern architecture. It is Le Corbusier’s masterpiece that reveals the architect’s purist design. It is the edifice that culminated in his many years of design and has been the foundation of his later architectures (Howe). This building is an early example that showcases the “International Style.” It floats and hovers above a plane of grasses on thin concrete pilotis. It has strip windows, a flat roof with a deck area, and some curvaceous walls (Matthews). The house is composed of two contrasting aspects. Its dominant element lies on the square, single-storied box, geometric envelope lifted above thin pilotis (Trachtenberg and Hyman 530).

Le Corbusier’s style in the said construction revolts against creating a building as a block and decorating its external elements and closures with ornaments. The new movement has moved away from ornamentation and has focused more on exploring three-dimensional volumetric intricacies inside an architectural space. The new style aims to represent the machine age (Chami).

Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier are two great masters in the realm of architecture. Both of them are famous and renowned worldwide because of their buildings and artistic creations.

Aalto’s works, especially during his early years of development, are anchored in functionalism. However, the simple definition of the term ‘functionalism’ does not primarily reveal the depth of his artistic achievement. For his career, functionalism is expressed in the organic relationship between man, nature, and building (Brady). His interest revolves around the placement of the organic links in relation to the world and the people who will use them (“Alvar Aalto”). On the contrary, Le Corbusier’s earlier buildings, constructions, and edifices showcase pure prism. Those constructions illustrate smooth, white concrete and glass structures that hover above the ground. During the late 1940s, he shifted his style into rough, heavy forms of stone, concrete, stucco, and glass, known as New Brutalism (Craven).

Aalto had designed many townhouses, buildings, and even furniture. Le Corbusier, on the other hand, had also designed buildings—most of which became famous—townhouses, centers, and pavilions. The only difference is that Le Corbusier published three books, namely Vers une Architecture (1927), La Maison des Hommes (1942), and Quand les Cathedrals Etaient Blanches (1947), while Aalto had done paintings and glass designs that are still renowned in the world.

Well-known architects have designed and constructed their masterpieces in accordance with their philosophies. Aalto’s philosophy, which is summed up in the 1950s, is stated as: “There are only two things in art—humanity or its lack. The mere form, some detail in itself, does not create humanity. We have today enough of superficial and rather bad architecture which is modern” (“Alvar Aalto”). Le Corbusier, in contrast, possesses five basic principles that guided him in his creations. It is written and stated in his Vers une Architecture and is the embodiment of the Villa Savoye. The principles are (1) free-standing support pillars, (2) an open floor plan independent of the supports, (3) a vertical facade that is free from the supports, (4) long horizontal sliding windows, and (5) roof gardens (Craven).

The development of the artistic careers of the featured writers can be traced to the people who have influenced them. Edward Schure’s Les Grand Inities and Owen Jones’s Grammar of Ornament are the earlier masterpieces that influenced Le Corbusier. His exposure to Plato, Schure, and Jones was the most influential on Corbusier’s worldview (Kennedy). On the other hand, Aalto has been influenced by his desire for painting. Thus the embodiments of his works divulge and expose his unique architectural style, revealing the cubism and collage artistic movements.

If Le Corbusier is the leader of the International Style, Alvar Aalto is the Father of Modernism in Scandinavian countries. These two architects, Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier have contributed much to the field of architecture. Their buildings, edifices, and artistic creations have survived for decades, influenced other architects, revealed much, and contributed much to the development and history of Modern Architecture.

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