The separate volumes, C and B wings, were linked by a first floor corridor. C wing,
the service building, housed rooms for handling raw materials and the kitchen on
top of each other, connected by a lift. The kitchen and serving areas were located on
the same level and storage had therefore been solved with “serial boxes with castors”.
Aalto also described the ventilation system in the kitchen.^487
He recounted that the building was entirely built on a reinforced concrete frame,
the external walls being non-load bearing and that there were vertical and horizontal
channels running throughout the building for technical systems. The sundecks and the
A wing staircase had cast concrete façades, while the other sections were rendered with
a fluate^488 and lime paint coating. He also described the special structural system of
the sundeck. All roofs were flat roofs. Aalto described the work process and introduced
key partners, such as the site foreman, the chairman of the Building Board, the senior
engineers, paintwork supervisors and the team at his own practice.^489
Aalto did not explain in any detail the clinical spaces or methods or how the needs
of clinical practice had been taken into account in the design. He overlooked explaining
spaces relating to surgical operations and other active treatment forms, such photother-
apy. If we compare the project description of Paimio Sanatorium to that of the Red
Cross Hospital (1932)^490 and the Women’s Hospital (1934)^491 in Helsinki, which were
designed by Jussi Paatela, completed practically simultaneously, and published in the
same magazine as the Paimio Sanatorium project, it is noticeable how Aalto completely
omits discussing the design problems arising from medical treatment or the descrip-
tions of electrical and ventilation systems or structural typification. The description of
Paimio Sanatorium focused exclusively on the architect’s insights and the architectural
design of the sanatorium.
The 13-page in-depth article was rich in illustrations, with 22 photographs taken
by Gustav Welin and 11 diagrams. The photographs were recently taken both outside
and inside the sanatorium. Aalto used general views from three angles. The building
was more than its main elevation; it was a spatial experience that could be approached
from a number of different angles. The general view of the cour d ’honneur between two
wings was asymmetrical and emphasised a personal perception of the building. The
photograph of the dining hall was taken from the lower section of the space towards
to double-storey space. The cross-sections of the wings were the same as those used
in 1932 in Byggmästaren. The section of B wing showed sunlight penetrating deep
into the building, the principle which Aalto used to persuade decision-makers to
allow him to keep his original design. The diagrams included a collage illustration
of the structure of the washbasin and the projection of the patient room floor plan
487 Aalto 1933b, pp. 79–91.
488 Fluates were fluosilicates used as liquids to waterproof concrete and materials. The technique was commonplace
in the 1920s and 1930s. Panu Kaila’s email correspondence to the author, February 26, 2003.
489 Ibidem.
490 Paatela 1933, pp. 49–57.
491 Paatela 1934, pp. 141–150.