ALVAR AALTO

ALVAR AALTO was born in Kuortane, Finland. As one of the co-founders of Artek, Aalto left behind a legacy with lasting resonance. Aalto began designing furniture as a natural extension of his architectural thinking. Through innovations such as the standardization of parts and the development of new bent wood techniques, Alvar Aalto's name has become an important one in the history of furniture design. In the late 1920s, Alvar Aalto began experimenting with bending wood. Working with furniture maker Otto Korhonen, he developed a groundbreaking process that resulted in the "L-Leg". To create the L-shaped leg, a slit is cut into the edge of the wood. A piece of plywood is then inserted and glued in. This simplifies the bending process and increases the stability of the component. Aalto called the L-Leg "the little sister of the architectural column". The technique, patented by Aalto in 1933, meant that wood could be used to form stable, durable designs. The construction of a system of standard components allowed the creation of over 50 versatile products.