Alvar Aalto in the context of "Neo-futurism"

A sanatorium (from Latin sānāre 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence.

Sanatoria were often in a healthy climate, usually in the countryside. The idea of healing was an important reason for the historical wave of establishments of sanatoria, especially at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The most common issue treated at sanatoria was tuberculosis (before the discovery of antibiotics). Some sanatoria also treated alcoholism as well as hysteria, masturbation, fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Facility operators were often charitable associations, such as the Order of St. John and the newly founded social welfare insurance companies.

Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; Finnish: Teknillinen korkeakoulu; Swedish: Tekniska högskolan, HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern day Aalto University was founded. The university was founded in 1849 by Grand Duke of Finland, Emperor Nicholas I and received university status in 1908. It moved from Helsinki to Otaniemi campus area in 1966. The merger of HUT with two other schools created the Aalto University in 2010, and HUT briefly held the name Aalto University School of Science and Technology before being split into four schools in 2011.

Much of the university's Otaniemi campus was designed by Alvar Aalto.

The Ahlström family is a Finnish family of industrialists, designers and artists. They are known for being the founding family behind the Ahlstrom Corporation and for their cooperation with Alvar Aalto. Jussi Ahlström, the son of a Swedish allotment soldier and the ancestor of the Ahlström family, was from Naistenmatka, the village of Pirkkala.

Aino Maria Marsio-Aalto (born Aino Maria Mandelin; 25 January 1894 – 13 January 1949) was a Finnish architect and a pioneer of Scandinavian design. She is known as the design partner of architect Alvar Aalto, with whom she worked for 25 years, and as a co-founder with him, Maire Gullichsen, and Nils-Gustav Hahl of the design company Artek, collaborating on many its most well-known designs. As Artek's first artistic director, her creative output spanned textiles, lamps, glassware, and buildings. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and MoMA has included her work in nine exhibitions, the first of which was Aalto: Architecture and Furniture in 1938. Other major exhibitions were at the Barbican Art Gallery in London and Chelsea Space in London. Aino Aalto has been exhibited with Pablo Picasso.

The Alvar Aalto Museum is a Finnish museum operating in two cities, Jyväskylä and Helsinki, in two locations each, dedicated to architect and designer Alvar Aalto. All four locations are open to the public. They are:

• The Alvar Aalto Museum in Jyväskylä, which is a museum specialised in architecture and design and functions as the national and international centre on all things related to Aalto (in more detail below).
• The Muuratsalo Experiential House (in more detail below)
• Villa Aalto in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki
• Studio Aalto, also in Munkkiniemi, Helsinki

Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist construction showcasing the bare building materials and structural elements over decorative design. The style commonly makes use of exposed, unpainted concrete or brick, angular geometric shapes and a predominantly monochrome colour palette; other materials, such as steel, timber, and glass, are also featured.

Descended from Modernism, brutalism is said to be a reaction against the nostalgia of architecture in the 1940s. Derived from the Swedish word nybrutalism, the term "new brutalism" was first used by British architects Alison and Peter Smithson for their pioneering approach to design. The style was further popularised in a 1955 essay by architectural critic Reyner Banham, who also associated the movement with the French phrases béton brut ("raw concrete") and art brut ("raw art"). The style, as developed by architects such as the Smithsons, Hungarian-born Ernő Goldfinger, and the British firm Chamberlin, Powell & Bon, was partly foreshadowed by the modernist work of other architects such as French-Swiss Le Corbusier, Estonian-American Louis Kahn, German-American Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Finnish Alvar Aalto.

The architecture of Finland has a history spanning over 800 years, and while up until the modern era the architecture was highly influenced by Sweden, there were also influences from Germany and Russia. From the early 19th century onwards influences came directly from further afield: first when itinerant foreign architects took up positions in the country and then when the Finnish architect profession became established.

Furthermore, Finnish architecture in turn has contributed significantly to several styles internationally, such as Jugendstil (or Art Nouveau), Nordic Classicism and Functionalism. In particular, the works of the country's most noted early modernist architect Eliel Saarinen have had significant worldwide influence. Even more renowned than Saarinen has been modernist architect Alvar Aalto, who is regarded as one of the major figures in the world history of modern architecture. In an article from 1922 titled "Motifs from past ages", Aalto discussed national and international influences in Finland, and as he saw it: