Alvar Aalto and Urban Design

This book provides a fresh look at Alvar Aalto’s regional and community planning work,particularly the ways in which he incorporated sustainability, resiliency, energy, and health,and examines how contemporary architects and planners can learn from this approach for thebetterment of 21st-century urban design and our future cities. The Alvar Aalto Atelier plannedand promoted regional development that combined ecological features, considered density, andoffered a framework for informality, including flexible, adaptable infrastructures, with physicalplans integrating communities with nature. These plans were largely suburban and containedvital lessons on how to deal with sprawl, traffic, landscape, energy, labor, and industry.This bookanalyzes letters, writings, and drawings not seen outside the Alvar Aalto Foundation, to reviewalternative ways to examine suburban landscapes and urban typologies, through sustainability,ecology, and use of digital technologies. This is an essential read for all those interested in theurban design work of Alvar Aalto. Written in an accessible way for those new to the work ofAalto, Architecture and Urban Design students of all levels will also find this a helpful guide onecologically and socially responsible design.