This volume of Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg – Saving a Modern Masterpiece is the first part of the series which studies the long, multidisciplinary and challenging restoration of Alvar Aalto’s groundbreaking project: the Viipuri Library. The plans of the library date from 1927, and the building opened its doors in October 1935.
The book is published by the Finnish Committee for the Restoration of Viipuri Library and it provides detailed information about the original design and building phases and the applied restoration principles. It also covers all the completed restoration phases that were completed in 1994–2009. The illustration is outstanding: the book includes copies of the original drawings, site photographs and restoration plans. The expert authors are members of the Finnish committee for the restoration: Maija Kairamo, Eric Adlercreutz, Tapani Mustonen, Tatyana Svetelnikova, John H. Stubbs and Leif Englund.
Alvar Aalto’s famous library in Vyborg, Russia, and the efforts since 1994 to restore it represent examplars in both architectural history and the history of heritage conservation.
— John H. Stubbs, Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg: Saving a Modern Masterpiece, Part 1, p. 9.
The restoration of this modern landmark was awarded the World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize in 2014. The restoration was also listed in the Finnish Architecture Biennial Review 2016. Please also check the 2nd volume in the series – Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg: Saving a Modern Masterpiece, Part 2 – in our catalogue.