Process of a global triangulation of cultures: How Alvar Aalto's design methodology crossed the Asia pacific

Finnish modern culture has been shaping Australian society's taste for furniture and architecture since the post-war period. At the same time, Japanese influence is also seen in the work of many 20th century Australian as well as Finnish architects. Amongst the commonalities that these three architectural cultures share, there are the attention paid to nature; use of natural materials; preference for asymmetrical compositions; celebration of spatial sequences and thrive to represent the national identity through the built environment. This process involved a complex synthesis of interrelationships, whilst it has developed the sensibility to the reception of Finnish and Japanese modernism in Australia. This paper is an initial exploration of the cross-pollination of these three cultures by the means of publications, exhibitions, grand tours, and implications in the mid and late 20th century Australia. In so doing, it adds a layer of interpretation to the studies on the circulation of modernism globally through the notion of “triangulation of cultures”. The paper considers projects from the post-war years - when Australian architects started travelling to Finland and Japan, as well as more recent works as examples of the synthesis of Japanese and Finnish architecture.