The tri-parted group of French doors that open onto the Studio garden and the wooden panelling above them were last painted as part of a comprehensive renovation in 2004. There are many cracks in the paint on the wooden surfaces, allowing moisture to collect underneath, which subsequently accelerates the cracking of the surfaces and the peeling of the paint.

It has also been observed that the painting treatment chosen for the wooden surfaces during the renovation forms a film that is too dense because it prevents the wood from drying out after getting wet, and thus contributes to the damage to the wood.

Photo: Studio Aalto courtyard facade. Maija Holma © Alvar Aalto Foundation.

Alvar Aalto’s architectural office was originally located in his own house, but the fifties was a busy decade and major commissions meant more workspace was required. Alvar and Elissa Aalto designed their new office in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki (Tiilimäki 20), within walking distance of their home, and it was completed in 1955.

The wall-like, white-rendered, closed-off building conceals an amphitheatre-like garden in its courtyard, and office staff could sit on the slate steps and listen to presentations or watch slide shows projected onto the white wall. The curved-walled studio constitutes the building’s main space, with views opening onto the courtyard. The horizontal battens attached to the high brick wall allowed drawings to be presented there. The back wall is covered with climbing plants growing as high as the upper windows, and prototype lighting fixtures designed by Aalto are mounted on the wall.

The office building was expanded in 1962–63 by the construction of a new staff dining room, the “Taverna”, and the addition of an office room on the second floor, behind the high courtyard wall. The extension was partially made of timber, and the upper floor beams continue the shapes of the first-phase concrete structures of the drawing hall in simple wooden structures.

Implementation planning for a complete renovation of the Studio building began in 2002, and the work was carried out in 2003–2004 under the direction of architect Eric Adlercreutz of the architectural office A-konsultit Ltd: the electrical and building technologies were updated, but the original, preserved surface materials and solutions were kept as far as possible.

After this extensive renovation, minor maintenance repairs and conservation measures have been undertaken almost annually, especially since the 2010s. These projects have been fairly small and local, in line with the available resources, with the hope that regular maintenance will avoid the need for major renovations and allow the building to retain its characteristic signs of aging and the precious patina that has accrued over time.

The site is protected in the local detailed plan with the marking SR-1, which means that: “The building is architecturally and culturally-historically valuable. The building may not be demolished, and no repair or alteration work may be carried out which detracts from the building’s value or style. If such measures have previously been carried out in the building, the building must be repaired in a way that is well suited to the style of the building during the repair or alteration works.” Building plan 10328 was confirmed on 19.12.1996.

The protection afforded by the local detailed plan can, however, be considered insufficient compared to, for example, Aalto’s nearby home, which comes under the Building Protection Act. The interior of the building is mainly authentic and therefore unique, and the local detailed plan has failed to take this into account. A protection proposal was drawn up for Studio Aalto in 2020 under the Act on the Protection of the Built Heritage. Protection under a special law is also one of the prerequisites for the possible inclusion of the site in the ongoing proposal for a series of Aalto’s architectural works to be awarded World Heritage Site status. The protection proposal was discussed by the Foundation’s board in March 2021 and advanced to the Finnish Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Ely). The protection proposal process includes a number of consultation rounds, which are still in progress.