As his firm’s most culturally significant buildings have been recently nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status, A+U features the humane, modern architecture of Alvar Aalto. The Finnish architect’s canon would join that of France’s Le Corbusier and the American Frank Lloyd Wright. His distinctive use of spatial vibrancy, the interaction between his works and the surrounding landscape, and the balance between materials and details — as the issue title suggests — are presented in photographs and narrative descriptions of 12 villas. This compilation is by Finnish architect and art historian Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen and architectural photographer Jari Jetsonen.