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Alvar Aalto was a modernist designer, noted for his humanistic approach to modernism. His wide field of activity ranged from furniture and glassware designs to architecture and painting. His vase designs are world-famous. He was one of the first and most influential architects of the Scandinavian modern movement, and a member of the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Major works include the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland, and the campus of Helsinki University of Technology. <br>
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Finlandia Hall is a concert hall in Helsinki, by Töölönlahti bay. Designed by Alvar Aalto and completed in 1971, the main concert hall seats 1,700 and features marble balconies and cobolt-blue walls with bent-wood decoration. The smaller auditorium, Helsinki Hall seats 340. The Congress Halls seat 450-900, depending on the configuration. The main features of the building's exterior are the great horizontal mass of the building proper and the towering auditorium that rises above it. Notable also is the exterior cladding, done in Carrara marble.

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