Ilmari Tapiovaara was one of the greatest interior architects and designers of his time. With the mind of a researcher and the soul of a craftsman, Tapiovaara was always looking for new ways to improve everyday objects. During his long career, Tapiovaara created dozens of iconic objects that are still loved today. Today, Artek's Tapiovaara Family Collection carries on the legacy of this master of timeless Finnish design.
In 1937, Ilmari Tapiovaara completed his studies in interior architecture and furniture design at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki in Finland. After graduating, he spent six months as an assistant in Le Corbusier's office in Paris in France. In 1938, Tapiovaara began working as artistic director and designer at Asko Oy, then the largest furniture manufacturer in Finland. In 1941, he was appointed artistic and commercial director of the furniture company Keravan Puuteollisuus Oy. In 1946/47, Tapiovaara and his wife, Annikki Tapiovaara, designed furniture for Domus Academica, then a new student residence in Helsinki. As part of this famous project, he also designed the Domus Stacking Chair.
A great admirer of Alvar Aalto's work, Ilmari Tapiovaara also wanted to create products based on the same ideological principles. Tapiovaara embodied functionalism's principle of social equality and felt that architecture was the starting point for his design work. Alongside dozens of chairs and other furniture, mainly intended for public spaces, Tapiovaara also designed numerous interiors for banks, offices, hotels and showrooms from the 1940s onwards.
In total, Ilmari Tapiovaara received six gold medals for his work at the Milan Triennials of 1951, 1954, 1957, 1960 and 1964. He also received the Good Design Award in Chicago in the USA in 1951 and the Pro Finlandia Medal in 1959.