[3][6] The couple had by accident met Aalto in Turku and asked him to design for them "a small home", which he did, according to the clients' detailed instructions.

[4][8] It provides event, meeting and accommodation facilities, mostly for purposes of promoting bilateral cultural relations between Finland and Estonia, or otherwise connected with the two universities; it is not open to the general public.

[3][2][9][8] The centre is named after the Finnish geographer Johannes Gabriel Granö, who held professorships at both universities in the early part of the 20th century (including teaching the young August Tammekann).

[3][11] The minimalist, strict, cubic design of the house reflects the ascetic functionalism of the early 20th-century modernism, and gives foretaste of what eventually developed into Aalto's signature style of clean, white surfaces accentuated by light wood.

[5] A notable feature of the house is the living room's open-fire fireplace, which is unusually placed not in the core of the building (as a hearth typically would be), but instead integrated into the external wall below the large windows.