Concept, Designing and Building of Architecture's

Architect : Alvar Aalto
Location : Helsinki, Finland
Date : 1962 to 1969
Building Type : Retail, Boookstore and Offices
Construction System : copper-clad curtain wall with white marble inset
Climate : Cold
Context : Urban
Style : Modern

Externally the building is a relatively straightforward copper-clad curtain wall. The brighter character of the Pohjois-Esplanadi is recognised by lining the window frames with strips of white marble. The two entrances off either street converge under an array of light fittings, from which leads the three-storey space of the bookshop tucked in behind other buildings.

Three crystalline rooflights bring light into this volume, and indeed appear to have embedded themselves in the roof. The vertically striped balustrades of white marble seem to attenuate the height of the space and dominate the colourful display of books.