Aino and Alvar Aalto's Savoy restaurant in Helsinki restored after 80 years
Ilse Crawford and her eponymous studio worked with Finnish furniture brand Artek to carry out a sensitive revamp of notable Helsinki restaurant Savoy.
Married architects Aino and Alvar Aalto completed the original interiors of Savoy back in 1937, designing the space to reflect their penchant for natural materials and comfy furnishings.
However, after more than 80 years of service and piecemeal renovation works, the restaurant had come to look "rather unloved and more than a little corporate".
Ilse Crawford, Studioilse and Finnish brand Artek ? which was co-founded by the Aaltos ? were brought on board to refresh the space.
"The Aaltos believed it was important to 'refine materials in a more humane direction'," Crawford told Dezeen.
"Respecting their focus on simplicity, functionality, and social awareness was an important part of our work on Savoy," she continued.
"Our work takes its cue from the original 1937 Aalto interior, taking the restaurant back to its original while refreshing it for today. Savoy needed a bit of repair and a bit of love, but it didn't need reinventing."
Over the course of six weeks, Crawford and her studio carefully restored Savoy's fittings and joinery.
The Aalto's had initially fit-out the dining room with diverse types of wood ranging from oak and elm to pine and mahogany.
Unfortunately, over time, exposure to sunlight and cigarette smoke had "flattened" their visual differences, resulting in a...
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