This book, first published in Finnish in 1985 under the title Aalto, is a critical introduction to Finnish architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976), written by one of Aalto’s Finnish architectural contemporaries, Kirmo Mikkola (1934-1986). The book is divided into six sections dealing with different aspects of Aalto’s architecture, from his classical beginnings to urban planning, as well as his various professional and intellectual associates.

Mikkola debunks the common opinion of a reticent Aalto to determine the roots of his thinking, seeing him as a mediator of influences from a wide variety of sources. The book was originally targeted at a Finnish audience, and so its translation requires ‘interpreters’, two architect-scholars who knew Mikkola well, Juhani Pallasmaa and Aino Niskanen. The book also sheds light on a young generation of Finnish architects that distanced itself from Aalto as a role model, pinpointed here by the inclusion of the essay ‘Snowballs’ (1948) by Aulis Blomstedt.

Often quoted by Finnish architectural scholars, the publication finally of an English translation of Mikkola’s book will appeal to those international scholars and students who have been aware of the lack of critical perspectives from Aalto’s Finnish architect contemporaries.