Kela Headquarters

Alvar and Aino Aalto won the 1949 competition for the Social Insurance Institution's headquarters with a proposal titled "Forum redivivum," and the building was constructed between 1953 and 1956 on Nordenskiöldinkatu, facing a park then known locally as the Writers' Park. The wings are arranged in a loose U around a raised inner courtyard and built from red brick, copper, and black granite, materials Aalto returned to across several major public commissions of the decade. It was one of the last major buildings the couple worked on together before Aino Aalto's death in 1949, though her design contribution to the winning scheme is well documented.