Alvar Aalto (full name: Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto) was a Finnish architect, urban planner, and furniture designer. He was born in Kurdan, Russia, on February 3, 1898. He died in Helsinki, Finland, on May 11, 1976. His international reputation rests on his unique blend of modernist sophistication, indigenous materials, and personal expression in form and detail.

Alvar Aalto's architectural studies at the Helsinki Institute of Technology were interrupted by the Finnish War of Independence, in which he also fought. After graduating in 1921, Alvar Aalto travelled in Europe, returning home to start his practice in Yvaskira, central Finland. In 1927, he moved his office to Turku, where he worked with Erik Bryggman until 1933, the same year he moved to Helsinki. In 1925, he married fellow student Aino Marsio, who remained his professional partner until his death in 1949. The couple have two children.

The years 1927 and 1928 were crucial to Alvar Aalto's career. He was commissioned to build three important buildings, which made him Finland's most advanced architect and earned him worldwide recognition. They are the Turun Sanomat newspaper building in Turku, the tuberculosis sanatorium in Paimio, and the Viipuri Municipal Library in Vyborg, Russia.