Stay at Finlandia Hall apartments: a modernist masterpiece

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(Image credit: Riikka Kantinkoski)

The two Finlandia Hall apartments have been restored to their former glory –so if you always dreamt of spending the night at an Alvar Aalto modernist architecture masterpiece, now is your chance. Launched as Finlandia Homes, the two properties within the Finnish master's epic Finlandia Hall were recently reopened, following a meticulous and sustainable architecture makeover that won the building a Wallpaper* Design Award. They are now bookable, offering tantalising stays in midcentury style.

Stay at the modernist Finlandia Hall apartments: welcome to Finlandia Homes

Part of the project to sustainably revitalise the iconic piece of 20th-century architecture, Finlandia homes saw the apartment interiors thoroughly refreshed. Elements that were lost or replaced over the decades were now reconstructed to Aalto's original designs. This includes fixtures and built-in areas, such as the wardrobes.

At the same time, the specialists at the Finnish Design Shop swooped in and dressed the interior with the modernist goodies that best complement the space's original character – elevating the interiors. Across the two properties, there are: a Hay’s ‘Kofi’ coffee table, Lundia’s ‘Classic’ display cabinet, &Tradition’s ‘Flowerpot’ lamps, Finarte’s ‘Palsta’ cushions, and the Lucius candleholder was designed by Company, among many others.

Located overlooking the adjacent Hesperia Park, Finlandia Homes were named after Aalto’s two wives – architect Aino Aalto (1894–1949) and architect Elissa Aalto (1922–1994) – and are titled 'Aino' and 'Elissa' respectively.

Artworks in both residences, like the furniture, were hand-picked. 'The artworks, sourced from HAM (Helsinki Art Museum), were selected to reflect the perceived personalities of Aino and Elissa as they have been passed down through generations. The art in the Aino apartment is more subdued and features blue tones, while the Elissa apartment showcases bolder, red-toned pieces,' says Finlandia Hall's Riitta Kilo in an interview to the Finnish Design Shop team.

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).