Nordic House
Christian Bickel fingalo, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Architect
- Alvar Aalto
- Completed
- 1968
A 1957 agreement between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to build a joint Nordic cultural centre in Reykjavík led, in 1962, to the selection of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto for the commission. The Nordic House opened in 1968, carrying many of Aalto's signature touches — an ultramarine-tiled roofline that echoes the mountains beyond, a circular light well in the library, extensive white tile and wood, and furniture and lighting all designed by Aalto himself. Aalto's wife Elissa oversaw construction, working closely with project architect Ilona Lehtinen to complete the final drawings.
