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AHO BLOCKS OF FLATS
Koskikatu 18, 1958–59
Koskikatu 20, 1960–62
Jaakonkatu 3, 1962–63
Alvar Aalto designed three red-brick hous-
ing and commercial premises for the entre-
preneurial family Aho in the town centre of
Rovaniemi. Many of the buildings Alvar Aal-
to designed in the 1950s used red brick as the
exterior material. One of the best-known of
his international red-brick buildings is the
Baker Dormitory of the Massachusetts In-
stitute of Technology.
Red brick has been used in a variety of
different ways on the façades of the blocks
MAISON AHO
Pohjolankatu 32, 1964–65
Alvar Aalto designed a private residence in the is highlighted using the roof windows leads
town centre of Rovaniemi for the business-
man and art collector Aarne Aho. The build-
ing enjoys excellent seclusion: there is on-
ly one window and entrance that faces the
street. An intermediate detached wall that
of flats designed by Alvar Aalto; cold attic this is the only outdoor sculpture of a build-
floors have been marked using endstones and ing designed by Alvar Aalto that has been im-
the window louvers have been made from plemented directly from his own designs. For
drainage pipes. Half balconies were installed the commercial premises of the building, the
for the apartments located in the Koskikatu customer entrances have bronze door han-
18 building, with the intention of reducing dles that have been designed by Alvar Aalto.
the harm caused by snowstorms and harsh
below-freezing temperatures. For the façade
of the Koskikatu 20 building, Alvar Aalto de-
signed a bronze relief that depicts the north-
ern lights and a jumping salmon. In essence,
vate residence is a common theme for the
from the hallway entrance to the lounge ar- private residences designed by Alvar Aalto:
ea, which separates the hallway from the in Villa Mairea and Maison Carré.
private rooms of the building, but more im-
portantly acts as a background for works of
art. The gallery wall of the Maison Aho pri-