Engineers’ houses

The houses designed for engineers are whitewashed, three-storey brick buildings with wonderful gardens. In the middle of a beautiful pine-covered slope is Mäntylä, the senior engineer’s house, which is the largest of the three engineers’ houses by surface area. The floor plans of all three are very similar. The buildings are bathed in pure natural light, so the rooms, which feels like one large space, are flooded with natural light from every direction. The entry to the large entrance hall is on the ground floor in the middle of the building. Around the hall are a spaciously appointed library, living room, dining room and kitchen. From the hall there are stairs to both upstairs and downstairs. Upstairs also has a large hall for resting in as well as four bedrooms and bathing and toilet facilities. Three of the bedrooms give access to a balcony, of which the buildings have several. Downstairs are the sauna facilities and plenty of storage space. From the sauna, you can get straight to the back-garden terrace and you can also cool off in the shade of the garden. The houses are beautifully situated on a slope, overlapping each other a little bit. The gardens merge into one another causing them to look like a large orchard in the autumn. The courtyard is adorned with a fan-shaped garage, the like of which Aalto designed for several, for either three or four cars.

Mäntylä is a true gesamtkunstwerk, furnished with Artek furniture and light fittings designed by Aalto. The glassware is the handwork of the Aaltos, both Alvar and his wife Aino. Mäntylä serves as the official headquarters of Stora Enso. You can get to know Mäntylä in the summer on the ’Ankkapurhasta Alvar Aaltoon’ guided tour. The tour can also be organised by appointment all year round.

”Ilona’s favourite room in the house is her library, and she spends many hours reading there. Another favourite room is the dining room, where she enjoys entertaining family and friends. A favourite feature of of the house is the original black and white tiled floor of the bathroom. One of Ilonas´s dislikes is the kitchen with its modern cupboards – she would very much like to have them replaced with more simple units in keeping with the original design. Ilona explains that for her it is not about living in an Aalto designed home, and furnishing it with Artek furniture – which she has not – but rather it is about living in a home with your own style and enjoying the wonderful Aalto atmosphere of the building.

Source of quotation: Clack, H, 2014. The Living Spirit of Alvar Aalto in Kymenlaakso. Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences.

Mäntyrinne 46900 Inkeroinen

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