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Modern grace: Lyrical forms from Finland Alvar Aalto(1898 1976) made aunique modernist mark. Influenced by both the landscape and the political independence of his native Finland, he designedwarm, curving, compassionate buildings, wholly set apart from the slick, mechanistic, geometric designs that characterized much contemporary European practice. Whether a church, a villa, a sauna, or a public library, Aalto'sorganic structurestended to replace plaster and steel with brick and wood, often incoporatingundulating, wave-like forms, which would also appear in his chair, glassware, and lamp designs. An adherent to detail, Aalto insisted upon thehumanity and societal role of architecture, stating: Modern architecture does not mean using immature new materials; the main thing is to work with materials towards a more human line.