Architect, Finland Although the international perspective of architectural developments in Finland centered on the work of Alvar Aalto in the quarter-century following World War II, Finnish architecture during this time was very much more than Aalto. This period is often viewed, again from an international perspective, as the quiet, golden age of the century, with numerous works realized in a material palette relying on brick and wood. Within Finland, while Aalto went his own way, the majority of Finnish architects continued to practice an evolved form of modernism influenced by Mies van der Rohe, among others. This work is characterized by its direct approach in the use of reinforced concrete and steel along with brick and wood, coupled with rational building planning and organizational techniques. Less romantic in conception than Aalto’s work, these buildings expanded the rationalist aspect of modernism while incorporating more expressive spatial explorations with richer material voc...