Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of the church architecture by Alvar Aalto. General features of Aalto's architecture are the result of accommodating Modern architecture with regional qualities of Finland. The church would be the best example for understanding his architecture because he designed most of his churches in the prime of life. He established architectural types in his 30s through Viipuri public library and Saynatsalo town hall. He developed these types and applied them to his whole design. His type acts as a principle of configuration of his church architecture rather than a copy of form and shows the characteristics in the field of building layout, dynamic space and the effective use of light. Therefore, Aalto's church architecture can be recognized as the representative of Modern Finnish architecture in that they developed the meaning of their specific context including site, region and cultural tradition without losing the concept and technology of Modern architecture.
