Paimio Sanatorium (, ) is a former

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

Paimio Paimio (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland (, ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ('','' ) of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regional capital and most populous city is Tu ...

, designed by Finnish architect

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

. Aalto received the design commission having won the architectural competition for the project held in 1929. The building was completed in 1933, and soon after received critical acclaim both in Finland and abroad. The building served exclusively as a tuberculosis sanatorium until the early 1960s, when it was converted into a general hospital. Today the building is owned by

Turku University Hospital Turku University Hospital (, ) is a hospital in Turku, Finland. General information The hospital serves as the central hospital for southwestern Finland. It is located near the city centre of Turku and the university, and has branches in the n ...

but is not functioning as a hospital; rather, the building has functioned as private rehabilitation centre for children since 2014. The sanatorium has been nominated to become a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

Aalto received the commission to design the building after winning an

architectural competition An architectural competition is a type of design competition, in which an entity that intends to build new work, or is just seeking ideas, invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning scheme is usually chosen by an independent panel ...

for the project held in 1929. Though the building represents the 'modernist' period of Aalto's career, and followed many of the tenets of

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

's pioneering ideas for

modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

(e.g. ribbon windows, roof terraces,

machine aesthetic The machine aesthetic "label" is used in architecture and other arts to describe works that either draw the inspiration from industrialization with its mechanized mass production or use elements resembling structures of complex machines (ships, pla ...

), it also carried the seeds of Aalto's later move towards a more synthetic approach. For instance, the main entrance is marked by a nebulous-shaped canopy unlike anything being designed at that time by the older generation of modernist architects. The building is widely regarded as one of his most important early designs — designed at the same time as the

Vyborg Library Vyborg Library () is a library in Vyborg, Russia, built during the time of Finnish sovereignty (1918 to 1940-44), before the Finnish city of Viipuri was annexed by the former USSR and its Finnish name was changed to Vyborg by the Soviet authori ...

. Aalto and his wife Aino designed all of the sanatorium's furniture and interiors. Some of the furniture, most notably the

Paimio chair Artek is a Finland, Finnish furniture company. It was founded in December 1935 by architect Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino Aalto, visual arts promoter Maire Gullichsen and art historian Nils-Gustav Hahl. The founders chose a non-Finnish name: the n ...

, is still in production by

Artek Artek may refer to: *Arctic Technology Centre *Artek (camp), an international children center near Hurzuf, Crimea *Artek (company), a Finnish furniture manufacturer {{Disambiguation ...

. In the 1960s, the threat from tuberculosis declined and Paimio Sanatorium was converted into a general hospital.

Architecture

Aalto's starting point for the design of the sanatorium was to make the building itself a contributor to the healing process. He liked to call the building a "medical instrument". For instance, particular attention was paid to the design of the patient bedrooms: these generally held two patients, each with his or her own cupboard and washbasin. Aalto designed special silent basins, so that the patient would not disturb the other while washing. Aalto placed the lamps in the room out of the patients' line of vision and painted the ceiling a relaxing greyish green so as to avoid glare. Each patient had their own specially designed cupboard, fixed to the wall and off the floor so as to aid in cleaning beneath it. In the early years the only known "cure" for tuberculosis was complete rest in an environment with clean air and sunshine. Thus on each floor of the building, at the end of the patient bedroom wing, were sunning balconies, where weak patients could be pulled out in their beds. Healthier patients could go and lie on the sun deck on the very top floor of the building. As the patients spent a long time — typically several years — in the sanatorium, there was a distinct community atmosphere among both staff and patients; something which Aalto had taken into account in his designs, with various communal facilities, a chapel, as well as staff housing, and even specially laid out promenade routes through the surrounding forest landscape. In the 1950s the disease could be partly dealt with by surgery and thus a surgery wing, also designed by Aalto's architect studio, was added. Soon after,

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

saw the virtual end of the disease, and the number of patients was reduced dramatically and the building was converted into a

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

Use of Sanatorium today

Paimio Sanatorium is still owned by Turku University hospital, but is no longer used as a hospital. Since 2014, the main building and some staff houses have been part of The Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Children and Young People which was established in 2000 by the

Mannerheim League for Child Welfare Mannerheim League for Child Welfare ( (MLL); ) is a Finnish non-governmental organization founded in 1920 that promotes the well-being of children, young people and families with children. MLL's goal is a child-friendly Finland. It can be attribu ...

Literature

*Margaretha Ehrström, Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen and Tommi Lindh, ''Nomination of Paimio Hospital for Inclusion in the World Heritage List''. Museovirasto, Helsinki, 2005. *Marianna Heikinheimo (2013):
Functionalism and Technology
', p. 73-79 *Göran Schildt, ''Alvar Aalto. The Early Years''. Rizzoli, New York, 1984.

References

External links