Shortly before the completion of Helsing-
borg Concert Hall, Markelius had voiced his
concern that the stackable chair he had designed
for the Concert Hall violated Aalto’s copyright,
as it resembled Aalto’s design for a similar type
of chair.^433 When Markelius queried this from
Aalto, the latter had no objection. In fact, Aalto
had himself modelled his stackable chair after
Otto Korhonen’s patented stackable chair with
Korhonen’s consent. In Korhonen’s innovation,
the stackability was the patented quality. More-
over, patents were national and the innovation
was protected by a patent in Finland only.^434
Aalto never mentioned this aspect of his design
to Markelius. Their correspondence does not
reveal whether Markelius knew that what was
being discussed was actually Korhonen’s inven-
tion and whether Korhonen was ever aware that
his idea was being plagiarised.^435
433 A letter from Markelius to Aalto dated September 17, 1932. Signum 10314, correspondence, AAM.
434 The protection of the patent started from the day of application, October 15, 1929. Finnish Patent Tuoli (Chair)
No. FI14869. Patent documents. NA.
435 There is no correspondence between Otto Korhonen and Alvar Aalto in the archives of the AAM. As they both
lived in Turku until 1933, they did not necessarily write letters to each other. In October 1933, Korhonen sent
Aalto his biographic information upon request. Korhonen was born in Rautalampi in on June 11, 1884. He had
studied two years at the Kuopio School for Carpenters, after which he had started working as a carpenter. In 1910,
Korhonen established the company he was then managing, with three other colleagues. Otto Korhonen’s letter
to Aalto, October 25, 1933. KOR.Fig. 2.5f. Aalto redesigned the chair Otto Korhonen had patented. Huonekalu- ja
Rakennustyötehdas Oy, published on January 1, 1934, p. 7.Fig. 2.5g. Stackable chair designed
by Sven Markelius for Helsingborg
Concert Hall. Rudberg 1989a, p. 41.