Reprise and Continuity in Alvar Aalto′s Design Process for Three Churches

Abstract

This article makes extensive use of undated archived sketches and drawings as key primary materials for studying Alvar Aalto′s design process. Expanding on previous work focused solely on Vuoksenniska Church, three of Aalto′s churches from the 1950s are examined here, namely those in Seinäjoki, Vuoksenniska, and Wolfsburg. Aalto′s sketches and drawings are first reviewed and then carefully organized to provide an approximate representation and overview of the design process for each project. A comparison of key sketches in the early stages of the design process for each church shows a noticeable similarity, where the sketches from one project could easily belong to another. While previous writing has already stressed Aalto′s tendency to reuse and repeat design elements, Aalto′s sketches show not only what, but how specific forms and ideas could be reprised from one project to another, and then subsequently varied and modified. Trapezoidal, fan-shaped, and bentwood forms are subsequently identified as Aalto′s basic design elements. The process of reprising and then adjusting and synthesizing these elements establishes a continuity in Aalto′s way to design, and also echoes Aalto′s ability to establish continuity across different scales.