"To celebrate the centennial of the birth of the great Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto, Alvar Aalto in His Own Words presents, for the first time, an illuminating collection of over 75 of his visionary lectures, speeches, articles, and other writings, and 100 archival illustrations." "These fascinating texts illustrate important aspects of Aalto's outlook and career. They begin with a charming piece, dictated by Aalto near the end of his life, about growing up beneath his father's two-tiered white table where the surveyor's apprentices worked - and his gradual ascent to the top tier. From Aalto's early writings (which he signed with the pseudonym 'Ping') there is a satirical sketch about Christmas festivities at Benvenuto Cellini's place, attended by an unlikely mix of characters including Eliel Saarinen, Andre Le Notre, and Katshusika Hokusai." "Aalto's often-idealistic reform projects - his Renaissance revival, his rationalistic utopia - his writings as a propagandist during the war years; his comments on his own crucial travels to Italy, the 1939 New York World's Fair, and the "decadence of public buildings"; critiques of building and furniture design - all reveal the progression of ideas and convictions that grew and changed throughout Aalto's life, both reflecting and influencing the course of architecture in the twentieth century. Other influences are also revealed in Aalto's contact with the Bauhaus in Germany, De Stijl in the Netherlands, Le Corbusier in France, and such important friends as Sven Markelius, Gunnar Asplund, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Siegried Giedion, Lewis Mumford, Walter Gropius, and Frank Lloyd Wright, some of whom Aalto eulogizes in the chapter 'In Memoriam'."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes index.

I. Beginnings The White Table A Fireside Story Eldorado What is Culture? Keynote speech at the centenary celebration of Aalto's school, the Jyvaskyla Lyceum, 1958 Temple Baths on Jyvaskyla Ridge Urban Culture Architecture in the Landscape of Central Finland II. The Renaissance Dream Benvenuto's Christmas Punch Painters and Masons Motifs from Past Ages Our Old and New Churches Finnish Church Art Journey to Italy The Hilltop Town From Doorstep to Living Room Abbe Coignard's Sermon III. The Rationalist Utopia The Latest Trends in Architecture An Independence Monument in Helsink: - the Olympic Stadium The Rational Cinema The Stockholm Exhibition 1930 The Housing Problem Instead of an Interview. Andre Lurcat in Finland Letter from Finland Geography of the Housing Question Rationalism and Man Influence of Structure and Material on Contemporary Architecture The Humanizing of Architecture The Trout and the Stream IV. The Wartime Propagandist Finland and Scandinavia The Human Side as a Political Option for the Western World Karelian Architecture V. Aalto in North and South America Comments on the 1939 World's Fair in New York An American Town in Finland The "America Builds" Exhibition in Helsinki, 1945 The Dichotomy of Culture and Technology Speech in Sao Paulo, 1954 Oscar Niemeyer's House near Rio de Janeiro Speech in Mexico City, 1963

VI. Chairman of the Finnish Association of Architects The Reconstruction of Europe Is the Key Problem for the Architecture of Our Time Aims as SAFA Chairman The Flexible Stair Finland as a Model for World Development Art and Technology Between Humanism and Materialism Form as a Symbol of Artistic Creativity Finland Wonderland VII. ... But You Can Set it an Example The Enemies of Good Architecture Building Height as a Social Issue The Decline of Public Architecture Town Planning and Public Buildings The Architect's Dream of Paradise National - International VIII. Plan Description The Villa Mairea The Oulu River Rapids Center Experimental House at Muuratsalo Town Center Rovaniemi IX. In Memoriam Armas Lindgren and We Erik Gunnar Asplund Eliel Saarinen Henry van de Velde Frank Lloyd Wright Le Corbusier Sigfried Giedion X. Interior Design, Furniture Modern Architecture and Interior Design of the Home Constructive Art. Svenska AB Artek Exhibits Furniture and Paintings The "Constructive Form" Exhibition in Stockholm, 1954 The Special Character of Nordic Design "Schoner wohnen" (More Beautiful Housing) XI. Interviews In Lieu of an Article Debate Between an Architect and a Professor The Relationship Between Architecture, Paintings, and Sculpture Interview for Finnish Television, July 1972 XII. Parting Remarks The International Status of Finnist Art The Human Factor Speech at the Helsinki University of Technology Centennial Celebration, December 5, 1972.