Ilmari Tapiovaara stuided furniture design at what today is the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture from 1934-37. After graduation, Tapiovaara worked in the architectural office of Le Corbusier in Paris for a year, before returning to Lahti, Finland where he became the artistic director for the Asko furniture company.
In 1939 Tapiovaara married Annikki Hyvärinen who became a close collaborator. Tapiovaara was artistic and business director for the Finish furniture company Keravan Puuteollisuus from 1941 to -50 but was called to the Karelian Front during WWII. At the front, Tapiovaara oversaw the designing and constructing of wooden dwellings and furniture . After the war, Tapiovaara travelled to Sweden where he studied techniques for bending wood. Back in Finland he used his new skills while designing and furnishing student housing facilities for Domus Academia in Helsinki. For the project Tapiovaara designed a collection of furniture including the stackable Domus chair, which is produced by Artek since the early 2000’s.
In 1948 Tapiovaara submitted chairs prototypes to the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design, organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Although Tapiovaara wasn’t awarded, his designs were selected for the exhibition. From 1950 to -53 he headed the department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at the Institute of Industrial Design in Helsinki, while also running the design studio Annikki and Ilmari Tapiovaara Interior Architects in the same city until 1971. From the studio, Tapiovaara created well-known designs such as the chair Fanett, the stool Pirkka and the chair Mademoiselle for manufacturer such as Knoll, Thonet, Hackman, Edsbyverken, and Asko.
From 1951 to -64, Tapiovaara won a total of six Gold medals at the Triennale di Milano. Tapiovaara was a visiting professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1952 to -53. His chair designs were a part of the exhibition Scandinavian Design that travelled through USA and Canada for three years from 1954. Starting in 1958, Tapiovaara worked in Paraguay, the first of several development projects for international organizations. From 1965 Tapiovaara worked as a teacher at the Helsinki University of Technology while also designing aircraft interiors for Finnair.
In 1969 Tapiovaara was appointed Honorary Designer for Industry by the Brittish Royal Society of Arts. In 1972, he established his own design studio, which he ran until 1986. Four years later he was awarded an honorary prize by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Ilmari Tapiovaara passed away at the age of 85 in 1999.
