The 6th Alvar Aalto Researchers’ Network Seminar “Reinterpretation” brings the latest trends in Alvar Aalto research to Jyväskylä in Finland on May 6–7, 2026. The event will provide a platform for researchers, students, and others interested in the research of modern architecture. The seminar will feature a total of around 40 unique presentations from around the world.
The presentations at the international research seminar encourage us to examine how Alvar Aalto’s legacy – and, more broadly, modern architecture and the built environment – is thought about, contextualized, and reinterpreted today. The sub-themes of the seminar are Concepts, Buildings, and People.
The presentations on the Concepts theme will delve into the theoretical foundations of Aalto’s architecture – from the typology of sacred space and material experimentation to nature-based design, functionalist critique and global reinterpretations of modernism. Together, the presentations reveal how Aalto’s ideas constantly give rise to new conceptual frameworks for understanding architecture’s human, cultural, and environmental roles, while at the same time inspiring new interpretations, from philosophical anthropology to postmodern readings and organic design traditions. The Concepts theme will be opened by the main keynote speaker, architectural historian, critic, and photographer William J.R. Curtis.
The event is also available online, details and to register
https://www.alvaraalto.fi/en/megaevent/6th-alvar-aalto-researchers-network-seminar-2026/
Powered by our partner, Alvar Aalto Foundation.
