A recently released feature film about Alvar Aalto presents the Finnish architect as an expert in self-promotion but Laura Iloniemi questions if this skill was the key to his success.

The recently released Finnish movie Aalto directed by Virpi Suutari places a great emphasis on Alvar Aalto's ability to market himself, suggesting that the critical international acclaim this celebrated architect won was down to self-promotion.
Can this really be why Aalto is placed alongside Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the great modernist architects" Or is this more of a reflection of the fact that it has become almost second nature today to explain away an architect's success by focussing less on the work and more on personal attributes and the power of PR" The Aalto movie trailer plunges straight into this way of thinking. In it, the film's narrators describe with relish how Aalto knew how to charm the press and how to woo the infinitely rich Rockefellers.
Aalto was clearly a great communicator as is clear from his journalistic abilities when writing about urban planning and housing. He was also known to be good company. A rarity perhaps in Finland, a country known for its introverted and unassuming culture, Aalto was a man of true wit and real charm.
Even if Aalto had been a reticent figure, his work would have drawn critical attention far beyond his native Finland
But, what drew Aalto to the attention of the architectural press and caught t...