Chapter 3 | The Building of Paimio SanatoriumTurku joined the project on February 15, 1930, Kaarlo Thomander^539 , master builder,
and Jaakko Ranta, Deputy Mayor of Turku, were appointed as new members to the
Building Board.^540 After Heikkilä’s death in December 1931, his work as Chairman
of the Building Board of the Tuberculosis Sanatorium of Southwest Finland was con-
tinued by Antti Raita. Architect Aalto participated in the work of the Building Board
from June 1929, when the Board made the decision to commission Aalto’s office to
design the Sanatorium.^541 Physician Markus Sukkinen^542 was appointed as the Board’s
medical consultant in December 1929,^543 after which he also attended the meetings of
the Board. The Building Board chose Sukkinen as the Sanatorium’s Medical Director
in May 1932^544 based on his professional merits during the construction phase.^545 The
Building Board did not convene at Paimio, and only made site visits on a needs basis.^546
The Building Board was responsible for communication with the authorities, such
as the State Medical Board, which, as the guardian of the state coffers approved the
designs for the Sanatorium. The Head of the Hospitals Division of the State Medical
Board, Senior Medical Officer Edward Johan Horelli’s brother Medical Director Väinö
Valpas Horelli,^547 influenced the project as a member of the Competition Committee.
Väinö Horelli was then working on a PhD research dealing with surgical treatment of
pulmonary tuberculosis.^548 The Building Board invited statements from specialist doc-
tors on the location of the site and on Aalto’s competition entry prior to ordering the
architectural plans. During the construction phase, the State Medical Board provided
statements on request. State aid was to be applied annually and, in conjunction, the
Building Board was required to report on budget compliance and the progress of the
work. The State Medical Board maintained constant control.
For the preparation and implementation of decisions, the Building Board appointed
from among its members a Building Committee, operating under the authority of
the Board, including three members and a secretary. The architect and the consulting
539 Kaarlo Esaias Thomander was born in Halikko in 1883 and graduated from the Turku Industrial School building
construction department in 1906 and from the road and water construction department in 1907. He had also
studied electrical engineering between 1904 and 1905. He began his career as a draughtsman at the Building
Construction Unit of City of Turku Building Department. He was a partner at Veljekset Thomander (Thomander
Bros.) drawing and construction office between 1909 and 1914. Thomander held several positions of trust in
Turku City Council and served on a number of technical boards and committees in the 1920s. He also served as
the joint director of Oy Radioala from 1927 onwards, as a member of the Board of Turun Suomalainen Säästö-
pankki (Turku Finnish Savings Bank) from 1923 onwards and as member of the Board for Turun Transito-Satama
transit harbour from 1929 onwards. Tolonen 1930, p. 556.
540 Törrönen 1984, p. 42.
541 Building Board 27 June 1929, Section 2. PSA.
542 Born in 1891, Markus Martialis Sukkinen graduated as a physician in 1916 and served as a physician at Alavus
Tuberculosis Sanatorium in 1920–1922, as a Junior Physician for a month in 1922, as the acting House Officer of
Satakunta Sanatorium and the House Officer at Central Finland Sanatorium for a total of five months. Prior to the
sanatorium project, he had made a study trip to Denmark in 1924 and Germany in 1928, where he paid a second
visit to in 1930. He chaired the City of Turku Healthcare Board between 1932 and 1933. Soininen 1935, p. 510.
543 Building Board December 8, 1929, Section 1. PSA.
544 Building Board May 18, 1932, Section 3. PSA.
545 Building Committee May 17, 1932, Section 1. PSA.
546 For example Building Committee August 26, 1931, Section 1. PSA.
547 Soininen 1935, pp. 180–181.
548 Soininen 1935, pp. 180–181.