Alvar Aalto's work is strongly influenced by his experience of nature – especially in the deep forests of his Finnish homeland. But he also visited the sites of antiquity on several trips to the Mediterranean and the Orient.

This book explores the dominant theme of nature in Aalto's work in a variety of ways. Interestingly enough, it is little known that he also worked as a landscape architect and created the garden for Villa Mairea together with the architecture as a Gesamtkunstwerk.

Richly illustrated essays describe for example Aalto's garden art and the influences of the Mediterranean landscape on Elissa, Aino and Alvar Aalto. The wonderful photographs by Elina Brotherus, mostly taken especially for this book, show Aalto's typical intertwining of interior and exterior spaces and convey the magic of the Finnish landscape.

Tom Simons, Professor em. for Landscape Architecture, Aalto University, Helsinki

Rainer Knapas, historian and Aalto expert, Helsinki