Villa Mairea is Alvar Aalto's masterpiece and is considered one of the bes buildings he has designed in his career.

The house adapts itself to the nature and covers all the needs and demands of the Guillichsens family.

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The aim of the project is to design an art gallery for the private collection of the family. The gallery has to be around 80m2, 30m2 of which have to be double high to fit in big paintings. This gallery has to include a small bathroom and a service quarter room.

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The gallery is placed on a small terrain at the east facade of the house surrounded by trees in a U shape so the gallery is protected and easily accesed from the walking path. A small grid of 2x2m squares was created in this small terrain. The aim was to obtain a circuit where you can visit the gallery following a path. To obtain this path, small boxes were placed in a way where you could walk from box to box and guide you through out the gallery. This boxes were turned into small chapels to fit the sculptures. A wall of this chapels was opened to the environment with a glass wall.

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Then the topography of this small terrain was solved using platforms at different levels joined by small ramps to smooth the walking path inside the gallery. The last step was to put double height space in two of the big 4x4m squares so this path would alternate singe and double spaces. This big rooms are illuminated by skylights at the top. Finally a small porch was added at the entrance and the bathroom and the service quarters were attached.

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The main feature of the design is its interior. Where you have the feeling of wanting to know what is happening inside, specialy in the big spaces. The way of adapting the unique floor plan at different levels and the smal chapels with glass windows outwards the nature are the exception in a measured and strict order.

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