Episode 45: Aino & Elssa Aalto
On January 25th, 1894 in Helsinki where Aino Maria Mandelin was born as the 11th of 13 children to Johanna and Juho Mandelin. The mother was a homemaker, the father was a railway conductor, however - I did find out that in 1906 the family changed their last name from Mandelin to Marsio. In the fall of 1913, Aino enrolls at Helsinki’s University of Technology to study architecture. She was one of only three women to enroll that year. With a brief pause due to the Finnish Civil War in 1918, Aino graduated in 1920 at the age of 25 and a fellow named Alvar graduated only 16 months after her. After graduation, Aino worked at a couple of firms in Helsinki and then moved north to Jyvaskyia. To work at Alvar Alto’s firm called Office of Architecture and Monumental Art Alvar Alto in 1924 - she would marry him in the same year. Along with that project and a few others, Aino gave birth to a daughter named Johanna or Hanni for short in 1925 and would later give birth to their son Hamilkar Aalto in 1928.
On January 13th, 1949, at the age of just 54, Aino passed away from cancer.
Elssa-Kiasa Makiniemi was born on November 22nd 1922. Not much is talked about her life actually but she became an architect in 1949 and started working at Alvar’s office. Elssa was a hard worker, she soon became in charge of major projects like the Maison Louis Carre and the Saynatsalo Town Hall.
When Alvar passed away on May 11th, 1976, Elssa, would be the one to complete his projects like the Aalto theater in Essen, the Riola Church. The Seinajoki Civic Center to name a few. She would also lead the restoration and conservation of Alvar’s earlier projects that he did with Aino including the Vyborg library.
Elssa would become a long-term board member of the Artek company (originally started by Aino and Alvar) until she passed away from cancer as well at the age of 71 on April 13th, 1994.
Caryatid: Tavia Forbes and Monet Masters, Forbes Masters
Yes, we have the duo! Tavia and Monet together have an interior design firm called Forbes Masters. Based out of Atlanta, this duo met in 2012 working on a project when they decided to form their own company. They realized they complimented each other.
References
“The Aalto House.” Alvar Aalto Foundation | Alvar Aalto -Säätiö, www.alvaraalto.fi/en/location/the-aalto-house. Accessed 4 Feb. 2022.
“Aino Aalto.” Alvar Aalto Foundation | Alvar Aalto -Säätiö, 22 Nov. 2021, www.alvaraalto.fi/en/information/aino-aalto.
“Elissa Aalto.” Alvar Aalto Foundation | Alvar Aalto -Säätiö, 26 Jan. 2022, www.alvaraalto.fi/en/information/elissa-aalto.
Nevaluoma, Kari-Otso. “Aino Aalto – the Strict Functionalist | Design Stories.” Finnish Design Shop COM, 28 July 2018, www.finnishdesignshop.com/design-stories/classic/aino-aalto-the-strict-functionalist.
Smow. “Smow Blog Design Calendar: January 25th 1894 – Happy Birthday Aino Aalto!” Smow Blog, 26 May 2021, www.smow.com/blog/2021/01/smow-blog-design-calender-january-25th-1894-happy-birthday-aino-aalto.
Wainwright, Oliver. “‘I Have Picked People up on the Street’: The Secret Life of Architect Alvar Aalto.” The Guardian, 22 Mar. 2021, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/mar/21/secret-life-architect-alvar-aalto.
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