ICOMOS supports the Aalto Works proposal for World Heritage status – the nomination decision will be made in July at the UNESCO meeting.

At the request of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Finnish Heritage Agency has prepared the nomination in cooperation with the Alvar Aalto Foundation, international experts, and the owners and users of the sites included in the series.

The Aalto Works series consists of 13 buildings or sites representing modern architecture that have played a significant role in the international modernist tradition. The serial nomination, composed of works designed by Alvar, Aino, and Elissa Aalto, is based on the ideas of the 20th-century international modern movement and presents modernism’s responses to societal needs.

The sites included in the Aalto Works series are: the Aalto Studio, Aalto House, Finlandia Hall, the Social Insurance Institution Headquarters, and the House of Culture in Helsinki; the Aalto Campus, Muuratsalo Experimental House, and Säynätsalo Town Hall in Jyväskylä; Paimio Sanatorium; the Aalto Centre in Seinäjoki; the Sunila residential area in Kotka; Villa Mairea in Pori; and the Church of the Three Crosses in Imatra.

Founded in 1965, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) assesses that the nomination meets the criteria for World Heritage status and recommends its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List with the evaluation “Inscription.”

The final decision on the inclusion of the series on the World Heritage List will be made by the World Heritage Committee at its meeting on July 19–29 in Busan, South Korea.

“This is the most positive signal and news possible. In its evaluation, ICOMOS has recognized the value of Aalto architecture in the same way as our national experts and has given its full support to the nomination. This is the best possible reward at this stage of the process,” says Stefan Wessman, Senior Specialist at the Finnish Heritage Agency.

The World Heritage Committee consists of 21 states. The current members are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Grenada, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mongolia, Peru, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Senegal, Switzerland, Togo, Czechia, Türkiye, Ukraine, Tanzania, and Vietnam.

13 Aalto sites in the serial nomination

The Aalto Works series includes the following sites: the Aalto Studio, Aalto House, Finlandia Hall, the Social Insurance Institution Headquarters, and the House of Culture in Helsinki; the Aalto Campus, Muuratsalo Experimental House, and Säynätsalo Town Hall in Jyväskylä; Paimio Sanatorium; the Aalto Centre in Seinäjoki; the Sunila residential area in Kotka; Villa Mairea in Pori; and the Church of the Three Crosses in Imatra.

The Aalto Works World Heritage nomination presents modernism’s responses to societal needs. It emphasizes modernism as a broad social phenomenon, not merely an architectural style. In the development of a young nation, equality and well-being of citizens were central goals, pursued through investments in urban planning, art, architecture, and design. As a result, architecture and design became part of Finland’s modern national identity.

Aalto architecture is the most internationally recognized and studied Finnish architecture. It belongs to the highest tier of modern architectural heritage, and the influence of Aalto’s work continues in contemporary architecture.

Aalto architecture is proposed for the UNESCO World Heritage List as a serial property, comparable in scope to modern architecture series such as those of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, inscribed in the 2010s. According to the international comparative analysis conducted as part of the preparation, the property has sufficient independent value as World Heritage.

Finland currently has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, six of which are cultural and the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago as a natural site. The inscribed sites are Suomenlinna (1991), Old Rauma (1991), Petäjävesi Old Church (1994), Verla Groundwood and Board Mill (1996), Sammallahdenmäki Bronze Age Burial Site (1999), and the Struve Geodetic Arc (2005). The Finnish Heritage Agency is responsible for implementing the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in Finland.

Source: Finnish Heritage Agency