Editing Alvar Aalto (section)

===Early career: classicism===

Although he is sometimes regarded as among the first and most influential architects of Nordic [[modernism]], closer examination reveals that Aalto (while a pioneer in Finland) closely followed and had personal contacts with other pioneers in Sweden, in particular [[Gunnar Asplund]]<ref>{{harvnb|Paavilainen|1982|p=23}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|p=29}}</ref> and [[Sven Markelius]].<ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|p=76}}</ref> What they and many others of that generation in the Nordic countries shared was a classical education and an approach to classical architecture that historians now call [[Nordic Classicism]].<ref>{{harvnb|Paavilainen|1982|pp=11–15}}</ref> It was a style that had been a reaction to the previous dominant style of [[National romantic style|National Romanticism]] before moving, in the late 1920s, towards Modernism.<ref>{{Citation|last=Wilson|first=Colin St J. WilsonSir Colin St J.|title=Aalto, Hugo Alvar Henrik|date=2009-01-01|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198605683.001.0001/acref-9780198605683-e-0001|work=The Oxford Companion to Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198605683.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-860568-3|access-date=2021-07-06}}</ref>

Upon returning to Jyväskylä in 1923 to establish his own architect's office, Aalto designed several single-family homes designed in the style of Nordic Classicism. For example, the manor-like house for his mother's cousin Terho Manner in Töysa (1923), a summer villa for the Jyväskylä chief constable (also from 1923) and the Alatalo farmhouse in Tarvaala (1924). During this period he completed his first public buildings, the Jyväskylä Workers' Club in 1925, the [[Jyväskylä Defence Corps Building]] in 1926 and the [[Seinäjoki Civil Guard House]] building in 1924–29.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} He entered several architectural competitions for prestigious state public buildings, in Finland and abroad. This included two competitions for the Finnish Parliament building in 1923 and 1924, the extension to the [[University of Helsinki]] in 1931, and the building to house the [[League of Nations]] in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1926–27. {{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

Aalto's first church design to be completed, [[Muurame church]], illustrates his transition from Nordic Classicism to Functionalism.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alvar Aallon nuoruudensynti remontoidaan alkuperäiseen loistoonsa |trans-title=Alvar Aalto's 'aberration of youth' to be restored to its original glory |url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-7898439 |access-date=9 September 2020 |publisher=Yle |date=31 March 2015 |language=fi}}</ref>

This was the period when Aalto was most prolific in his writings, with articles for professional journals and newspapers. Among his most well-known essays from this period are "Urban culture" (1924),<ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|pp=19–20}}</ref> "Temple baths on Jyväskylä ridge" (1925),<ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|pp=17–19}}</ref> "Abbé Coignard's sermon" (1925),<ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|pp=56–57}}</ref> and "From doorstep to living room" (1926).<ref>{{harvnb|Aalto|1998|pp=49–55}}</ref>

[[Image:4Y1A7841 Alvar Aalto, Finland (26710745140).jpg|thumb|[[Villa Mairea]] in [[Noormarkku]]]]
[[Image:Baker House, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|Facade of [[List of MIT undergraduate dormitories#Baker House|Baker House]] on the [[Charles River]]]]
[[Image:Helsinki University of Technology auditorium.jpg|thumb|The main auditorium of the [[Helsinki University of Technology]] (now [[Aalto University]]) in [[Otaniemi]], Finland (1949–66)]]
[[Image:Aalto cultural house.JPG|thumb|House of Culture, Helsinki]]
[[File:Library Wolfsburg Alvar Aalto photo by Christian Gänshirt.jpg|thumb|Cultural Center [[Wolfsburg]] (1958–62)<ref>[http://aalto-wolfsburg.com/content.php?id=kulturhaus Das Alvar-Aalto-Kulturhaus auf der Website des Alvar Aalto Zentrums Deutschland e.V. Wolfsburg], retrieved 25 January 2015</ref>]]
[[Image:Finlandia A-Wiki.jpg|thumb|[[Finlandia Hall]] (1962–71)]]
[[Image:Aalto-Theater 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Aalto Theatre|Aalto-Theater]] opera house in [[Essen]], Germany]]