Paimio Santorium

Case Study 4 - Paimio Sanatorium

Case Study 4 - Paimio Sanatorium

Case Study 4 - Paimio Sanatorium

In 1929 Alvar and Aino won a competition for a tuberculosis sanatorium, which was completed in 1933 and helped spring the Aalto’s into the international spotlight and popularity both for their architecture (Alvar Aalto Foundation, n.d.) and their furniture design (Hipeli, 2012, 37). The sanatorium was in use for tuberculosis up to the 1960’s and has since served several purposes and is today run by the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation (Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, n.d.).

In the early design stages Alvar fell ill and as he put it himself he

“was able to use myself as a test case of how an ill person’s room should actually be constructed”

and also that a sick patient

“is naturally more delicate, more sensitive, than a normal person” (Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, n.d.).

The design very much shows this care and perhaps understanding of a sick person’s situation through many specially designed elements. For example the patient’s room is designed from the perspective of laying down rather than standing or sitting, the perspective of a person’s time in his/her weakest possible condition if you will. For example the ceilings were dark, light should not shine directly into the patient’s eyes and perhaps most famous are the silent wash basins, so others would not be disturbed by the sound of water splashing (Kim, 2009, 11).

Comparing the Paimio Sanatorium to the three other Aalto works studied here does not bring up as many similarities as perhaps the Villa Mairea and the Aalto House due to being a completely different type of project, but elements such as the organic shapes together with straight lines, the connection to nature and a general care for detail is still apparent at large.

Case Study 4 - Paimio Sanatorium

The layout of the building aims to always give patients the best possible natural conditions of sunlight and wind (Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, n.d.) the air coming in from the pine forest was for example believed to have healing effects which informed the placement of the balcony where breathing exercises/sessions were conducted year round. Most furniture and details in the sanatorium was also designed so as to not collect dust (Paimio Sanatorium Foundation, 2022). In a time where modern architecture praised rationalism and efficiency, the meticulous designing of Paimio Sanatorium may seem excessive, but rather than being rational, the Aalto’s could be seen as being reasonable and caring for the patients emotional requirements (Kim, 2009, 11).

When entering the Paimio Sanatorium the visitor is first met with the canopy over the entrance, in a shape reminiscent of the Villa Mairea entrance and pool. Nicknamed Aalto’s Lung by the nurses. (Kim, 2009, 13).

To the left is also a photo of the backside of the wing shown in the sketch, one could imagine that the trees shadowing the wall may have inspired the outside wall for screening in Studio Aalto.

Case Study 4 - Paimio Sanatorium

A notable piece of design that came out of the Paimio Sanatorium project and later into production via Artek is the Paimio chair or armchair 41 (Alvar Aalto Foundation, n.d.). The chair was made to give the user an optimal sitting position for breathing. It could also be seen as an adaptation of Breuer’s Club Chair with the tubular steel exchanged for birch and plywood (MoMA, 2019). When comparing the design of Aalto to Breuer one can see the Aalto’s adaptation of rationalism into reasonability or perhaps human rationalism (Kim, 2009, 12)