Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is to Finland what Picasso is to Spain or James Joyce to Ireland. The architect designed and built buildings, light fittings, tableware and furniture - creations that now symbolise the land of 180,000 lakes. Above all, he made the curve his signature style, drawing inspiration from nature, playing with the low-angled light of the midnight sun, and celebrating the snow and birch forests. Born at a time when eclecticism reigned supreme, over the years he explored a range of styles, from national romanticism to hard-line modernism, before softening his approach by embracing humanism. Alvar Aalto: architecture re-enchanted. As its name implies, La biblioth?que de l'Amateur is an art lover's library, retracing the creative history of the 20th century in the fields of architecture, design and the decorative arts.

Few architects have had the opportunity, as Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) did, to build a city - and, what is more, a capital: Bras?lia, a futuristic city with undulating, striking and sensual forms. Throughout his career, from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, from New York to Milan, this prodigy of concrete, domes and columns built dozens of museums, government ministries, homes, villas, pieces of furniture and sculptures- He was responsible, in particular, for the French Communist Party headquarters in Paris and the Maison de la Culture in Le Havre. The man whom the whole nation simply called Oscar remained active until his death at the age of 105 - enough time to create a century's worth of modern icons. As its name implies, La biblioth?que de l'Amateur is an art lover's library, retracing the creative history of the 20th century in the fields of architecture, design and the decorative arts.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is to Finland what Picasso is to Spain or James Joyce to Ireland. The architect designed and built buildings, light fittings, tableware and furniture - creations that now symbolise the land of 180,000 lakes. Above all, he made the curve his signature style, drawing inspiration from nature, playing with the low-angled light of the midnight sun, and celebrating the snow and birch forests. Born at a time when eclecticism reigned supreme, over the years he explored a range of styles, from national romanticism to hard-line modernism, before softening his approach by embracing humanism. Alvar Aalto: architecture re-enchanted. As its name implies, La biblioth?que de l'Amateur is an art lover's library, retracing the creative history of the 20th century in the fields of architecture, design and the decorative arts.

Few architects have had the opportunity, as Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012) did, to build a city - and, what is more, a capital: Bras?lia, a futuristic city with undulating, striking and sensual forms. Throughout his career, from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, from New York to Milan, this prodigy of concrete, domes and columns built dozens of museums, government ministries, homes, villas, pieces of furniture and sculptures- He was responsible, in particular, for the French Communist Party headquarters in Paris and the Maison de la Culture in Le Havre. The man whom the whole nation simply called Oscar remained active until his death at the age of 105 - enough time to create a century's worth of modern icons. As its name implies, La biblioth?que de l'Amateur is an art lover's library, retracing the creative history of the 20th century in the fields of architecture, design and the decorative arts.