Baker House

Baker House (completed 1949) is a dormitory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed by Alvar Aalto. It was restored and rededicated in 1999.

Concept
Baker House is known for its unique wave shape. The chief benefit of this technique is that it allows more rooms to face the Charles River and Boston. In fact, 90% of rooms in Baker House have a river view.

The wave shape also varies the room view and shape so that there is a unique view for each room along the corridor. Unlike other Modernist buildings built at the time, each room is different than its neighbors. Compare Aalto's work with that of Gropius and The Architects Collaborative at  Harvard.

Critical response
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