A collage of materials amongst the trunks of countless birch trees in the Finnish landscape, the Villa Mairea built by Alvar Aalto in 1939 is a significant dwelling that marks a transition from traditional to modern architecture. Built as a guest house and rural retreat for Harry and Maire Gullichsen, Aalto was given permission to experiment with his thoughts and styles, which becomes clear when studying the strangely cohesive residence. The constant theme of a shifting and advancing technology is ever present in Aalto's design. The transformation of materials and therefore the experiences created by them form fences and then walls around and through the villa. © Alvar AaltoStarting at a shorter mound of compacted dirt rises a fence roughly woven together from long sticks. A regularity arises as it lengthens and the sticks become more directional and linear, until it merges with the wooden walls of the grass-roof sauna which continues on to form the roof of a outdoor space and walkway. © Great BuildingsThis same concept of a morphing technology continues throughout the house, as materials shift form a stone to stone slab to glass and steel in the winter garden room. From the front door to the inside of the house, the materiality of the floor also changes as it becomes progressively more domestic and intimate, from stone to tiles to timber boarding and rugs. © Alvar AaltoAs it is placed in such an such a mesmerizing natural environment, Aalto used this to his advantage and designed with the intentions of blurring the lines between being inside or outdoors. The verticality of the columns existing throughout the house and posts found by the staircase mimic the sea of birch trees that surround the house. Aalto purposely makes each column different, “to avoid all artificial architectural rhythms.” © Great BuildingsThe main living area appears to open and close, which reproduces a similar experience as when walking through a forest. A forest light shines through the undulating screen that forms the wall between the bookcase partitions of the library and the ceiling to further imitate the experience of being outdoors. Upon exiting out of the front door, one is submerged in a row of these columns, which are placed specifically by Aalto to emphasize the continuity found between the environment of both inside the villa and out. Aalto fuses a modern open plan with the ghost of a traditional-style tupa, which is a large living room of a farmhouse in which poles from the ceiling to the ground mark the boundaries of areas created specifically for different activities. The basic L-shape of the floor plan is very characteristic of Scandinavian architects and is also found in his other house Munkkiniemi, another hint towards a more traditional style. © Alvar AaltoJuxtaposed against these rigid right angle forms that mark edges and boundaries of spaces and textures alike are wave-like forms which are considered by some as symbols of human freedom unpredictable line which runs in dimensions unknown to mathematics is for me the incarnation of everything that forms a contrast to the modern world between brutal mechanicalness and religious beauty in life.” This free-form is found throughout the house from the shape of the swimming pool and balcony spaces to other smaller finer details You'll now receive updates based on what you follow Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors If you have done all of this and still can't find the email FinlandChevron Nikari/Studio Mattila MerzSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links The views from my car window are a Nordic cliché: long stretches of farmland that give way to thick forests of birch and pine. Rustic farmhouses painted a deep, punctuating red. A freshly thawed stream shimmering in the sunlight. I leave Finland's southern coast behind as I cut northwest through its lake-dotted interior It's a beautiful landscape—though not one that traditionally draws the design lovers who flock to this country but the country's design identity has rural roots and I set out on a pilgrimage to uncover them Ahlström Noormarkku is a beautifully maintained enclave of orchards and streams The guest rooms at Ahlström Noormarkku are tributes to Alvar Aalto who began his career in furniture design on its grounds After an astonishingly good dinner at the estate's restaurant worker cottages and handsome industrial buildings As the fifth generation of his family to lead Noormarkku Even with its business interests having shifted elsewhere the extended Ahlström family continues to gather here to land and their ownership of it,” Ahlström explains we spot a herd of roe deer and a single white-tailed one fueled by a breakfast of savory Karelian pies designed in the 1930s by Aalto and his wife an art patron and the granddaughter of the ironworks' founder It appears around a bend in a forested path bathed in silence Its façade in wood and stone is modest but still manages to make my heart skip a beat The free-flowing interiors offer more stunners from the site-specific furniture to Gullichsen's trove of Picassos and Légers I am particularly taken by the forest-inspired staircase and rattan-wrapped pillars which make the home feel virtually inseparable from the surrounding woodland with its nods to the surrounding forest and collection of seminal art by Massimo Campigli I take a smoke sauna on the banks of the Noormarkunjoki River Water laps rhythmically against the bulrush-lined shore the family plans to make this the site of an ambitious design center and world-class arts pavilion I have a hard time imagining a modern structure here but it would be a fitting way to bring the family's design legacy into the future the first showroom for the world's largest online Nordic design store the company picked this site abutting the Pomponrahka nature reserve to house its dream headquarters care was taken to preserve the natural forest undergrowth and excavated stones and wild-food restaurant—helmed by award-winning forager-chef Sami Talberg—to blend seamlessly into their surroundings The result is a unique prototype for a next-generation design hub “Finnish design has always been inspired by nature,” Noukka says “but sustainability will shape its future.” The Finnish Design Shop abuts the Pomponrahka nature reserve—and has wraparound windows that offer unobstructed views of the wilderness from its showroom and wild-food restaurant In the 1600s this was the birthplace of the Fiskars ironworks which eventually became a world-renowned brand beloved for its garden tools and ubiquitous orange scissors When the company outgrew its production facilities in the village and other artisans turned the disused foundries and mills into studios and homes Vast woodlands surround Fiskars Village that thrived as an industrial and commercial center for more than 300 years In the '90s this Edenic landscape drew Karin Widnäs to Fiskars to build the KWUM Museum for international ceramists a gray timber-framed modernist structure that blends into its sylvan setting Here she produces award-winning ceramics that grace the tables of Finland's top restaurants “The forest and the lake give me all the inspiration I need,” she tells me A stroll away, on the banks of the Borgbyträsket lake, sits the workshop of Nikari a furniture studio that has been operational since 1967 and is known for its serene design language drawn to Fiskars’ abundance of native woods “With the former foundry that now produces hydroelectric power and locals who sew the covers for some of our chairs it’s completely circular,” says Johanna Vuorio “As a nation with a very strong connection with nature it’s common for us to think about sustainability,” she continues showing me pieces like the low-slung Centenniale table that are made from century-old oak or ash and designed to last centuries more making something that lasts is a source of pride and joy," she says Almost every Finnish family owns Wirkkala's glassware or Aalto's stackable stools is among the 100-plus artists that make up Onoma I’m spending the night at Wärdshus but the restaurant surprises me with its finesse My companion over dinner is Petteri Masalin Fiskars today owns a slew of legacy brands from Royal Copenhagen to Wedgwood I ask Masalin what it takes to stay relevant after all these years “Delivering the perfect cut again and again,” he says I encounter everything from three-dimensional textile art to moss-covered ceramic sculpture I might be far away from having a home filled with Aalto treasures but I'm closer to understanding the forces that shape the Finnish design philosophy—and that near-reverential closeness to nature that defines it up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse We understand that time is the greatest luxury which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world Finnish electricity distribution company Caruna and ABB have signed a four-year collaboration agreement for R&D The collaboration’s first phase focuses on the development and testing of a new kind of protection technology in the Noormarkku network area in Pori The goal is to achieve a major improvement in the reliability of electricity distribution A paper with preliminary results of related research was chosen from among more than 1,700 applications for inclusion in this year’s International Conference and Exhibition on Electricity Distribution (CIRED) the world’s leading forum for the electricity distribution sector “The electricity distribution sector is considered traditional but like other sectors it is benefiting from the opportunities created by digitalization The innovations we’re looking to develop through this collaboration will make our customers’ daily lives simpler and diversify the ways in which we can serve them “I’m delighted that we’re deepening our work on innovation with ABB and the work we’re doing together at Noormarkku substation gets things off to a great start,” says Caruna’s head of development Antti Keskinen The Noormarkku substation in the Pori region and the power grid it supplies are being used to test intelligent electricity protection technology based on contact voltage data from the network and centralized artificial intelligence The goal of the new system is to automatically interpret and react to any irregularities that occur in the electricity grid and provide a real-time view of the grid’s security status This will help to speed up troubleshooting and avoid power outages altogether “The innovation can be compared with a smart home Instead of handling each and every electrical device separately by pushing in or pulling out plugs we will be able to do everything from a single interface the system will issue a warning if a lightbulb needs replacing before it gets dark,” says Keskinen “It’s great to see world-class innovation expertise Electricity distribution is a critical part of a sustainable development in societies and we’re very pleased to be able to develop it with our customers such as Caruna,” says Alessandro Palin managing director of ABB's Distribution Solutions business Modern technology makes the grid intelligent While renewable energy is causing increasing fragmentation in future energy production wireless 5G connectivity and the Internet of Things are decentralizing the production and processing of data With the aid of artificially intelligent analysis of the growing mass of data notify a customer if their home heating is consuming an unusually large amount of electricity because of doors or windows being left open or the company could prevent or reduce disruptions in electricity distribution experienced by the customer by anticipating maintenance more effectively than currently Caruna distributes electricity and maintains repairs and builds a weatherproof electricity network for its 680,000 customers in South the sub-region of Koillismaa and Satakunta In order to guarantee a reliable electricity supply to its customers and under all circumstances A weatherproof smart electricity network also provides a well-functioning energy system for the future when digital services increase and the consumer becomes a producer of energy ABB's website uses cookies. 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