Editing Alvar Aalto (section)

===Mid career: experimentation===
During the 1930s Alvar spent some time experimenting with laminated wood, sculpture and abstract relief, characterized by irregular curved forms. Utilizing this knowledge, he was able to solve technical problems concerning the flexibility of wood while at the same time working out spatial issues in his designs.<ref name=Pelkonen/> Aalto's early experiments with wood and his move away from a purist modernism would be tested in built form with the commission to design [[Villa Mairea]] (1939) in [[Noormarkku]], the luxury home of young industrialist couple Harry and [[Maire Gullichsen]]. It was Maire Gullichsen who acted as the main client, and she worked closely not only with Alvar but also with Aino Aalto on the design, encouraging them to be more daring in their work. The building forms a U-shape around a central inner 'garden' whose central feature is a kidney-shaped swimming pool. Adjacent to the pool is a sauna executed in a rustic style, alluding to both Finnish and Japanese precedents. The design of the house is a synthesis of numerous stylistic influences, from traditional Finnish vernacular to purist modernism, as well as influences from English and Japanese architecture. While the house is clearly intended for a wealthy family, Aalto nevertheless argued that it was also an experiment that would prove useful in the design of mass housing.<ref>{{harvnb|Pallasmaa|1998|p=31}}</ref>

His increased fame led to offers and commissions outside Finland. In 1941, he accepted an invitation as a visiting professor to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in the US. During the [[Second World War]], he returned to Finland to direct the Reconstruction Office. After the war, he returned to MIT, where he designed the student dormitory [[List of MIT undergraduate dormitories#Baker House|Baker House]], completed in 1949.{{sfn|Vitra Design Museum}} The dormitory flanked the [[Charles River]], and its undulating form provided maximum view and ventilation for each resident.<ref name="Anderson 2012">{{harvnb|Anderson|2013}}</ref> This was the first building of Aalto's redbrick period. Originally used in Baker House to signify the Ivy League university tradition, Aalto went on to use it in a number of key buildings after his return to Finland, most notably in several of the buildings in the new [[Helsinki University of Technology]] campus (starting in 1950), [[Säynätsalo Town Hall]] (1952), Helsinki Pensions Institute (1954), [[Kulttuuritalo|Helsinki House of Culture]] (1958), as well as in his own summer house, the [[Alvar Aalto Museum#The Muuratsalo Experimental House|Experimental House in Muuratsalo]] (1957).<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCormick |first1=Megan |title=Architects' summer retreats |url=https://architecturetoday.co.uk/architects-summer-retreats/ |website=Architecture Today |date=22 August 2023 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>

In the 1950s Aalto immersed himself in sculpting, exploring wood, bronze, marble, and mixed media. Among the notable works from this period is his 1960 memorial to the [[Battle of Suomussalmi]].  Located on the battlefield, it consists of a leaning bronze pillar on a pedestal.<ref name=Pelkonen/>