Architect Josh Blumer Explains Why He Backpacked Through Europe With an Alvar Aalto Vase

I got to see the making of an Alvar Aalto vase at the Iittala glass factory in Finland in 1995, when I was studying abroad in Copenhagen. The glass blowers place the molten glass into a wood carving, and it forms this beautiful shape. This particular object stood out, because when you turn upside-down, it looks like a building. I think of Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid—more form-driven architects. It helped connect the dots between design disciplines for me.