Alvar Aalto - Finland
Southwestern Finland Agricultural Cooperative Building
Humalistonkatu 7, Turku
1927 - 1928


In the design competition for the Southwestern Finland Agricultural Cooparative Building, with deadline 25th February 1927, Alvar Aalto won the first prize with his propsal named "Acer". Alvar Aalto's winning proposal had several Neo-Classical touches, which disappeared at the construction stage. The building is an interesting testimony to the era, when Alvar Aalto changed his style to the international Rationalism. The construction of the large multipurpose building was finished in 1928. This building housed the Turku Finnish City Theater as an notable public institution, with an auditorium seating 196 persons. The steeply inclined main floor of this auditorium was accessed by tunnels which were designed like the vomitoria of a Classical amphitheatre. Additionally, the building also contained a restaurant, a hotel, a bank, shops, offices and flats. Some of the interiors were designed by Alvar Aalto, such as those of the theatre, restaurant, the bank and several shops. The architectural office of Alvar Aalto himself was located in this building for some time. The building still exists today, although the elevations have been altered, the original interiors were destroyed and the theatre has moved out.