Chapter 3 | The Building of Paimio Sanatoriumnext floor, resulting in a vault-like space at the top of the room. The northern wall of
the dining hall has not been drawn a single window. In such a situation, the airing of
the dining hall will be extremely difficult. We find that such a vault construction could
be omitted altogether and some windows added on the northern wall”.^578 Eighthly,
each ward should have a designated room for handling meals. Ninthly, the doctors
considered the potential future extensions and were of the opinion that the kitchen and
its auxiliary spaces had been scaled too small. According to the doctors, the pharmacy
and laboratory also needed to be relocated.^579
Once the expert statements had been received, the Building Board decided to
request further statements on Aalto’s drafts as well as opinions on any necessary changes
to them from Medical Director Väinö Horelli and Administrative Director Setälä of
Harjavalta Sanatorium.^580 Horelli’s statement addressed many of the key character-
istics in Aalto’s proposal. He agreed in his statement with Savonen and Mäkinen on
the superfluous nature of the sun balconies. In Horelli’s view, it was inappropriate to
place men and women in the same hall or in halls on top of each other. On such
moral grounds, he recommended that the halls were built at both ends of the patient
building and also suggested that the building would be slightly reoriented to align
more with the sun balconies, as he saw no justification for the room windows partly
facing the east. He wrote: “I hope that with this suggested change we can also shorten
the corridor somewhat between the building housing the dining hall and the kitchen
building. Assuming that I have understood the proposal for sun balconies correctly,
built in the proposed manner, they will prove unnecessarily expensive. Small pillars at
the front of the balcony will not interfere with the appearance of the balcony, and are in
any respect an impediment.” Horelli also commented on the patient room windows:
“As ingenious as the window arrangement would appear to be regarding the amount
of daylight allowed into the rooms, I would nonetheless advise against them. I am,
again, referring to Savonen and Mäkinen’s statements on the matter and would also
emphasise the fact that this method would result in the creation of colder wall surface
- the external wall is only 20 centimeters thick and the window arrangement would, in
my understanding, prove inordinately expensive.”^581
In Horelli’s view the second bathing facilities in the basement could be removed
as well as the disinfecting and sorting room for bath sheets, with the latter freeing up
space for a phototherapy room. He also saw no need for a screen between bathtubs,
and suggested that the pharmacy and the laboratory were to be relocated nearer to
the doctors’ offices. In addition, he expended advice on the location of rooms reserved
for handling laundry. He suggested that the rooms for cleaning equipment, bed linen,
medicine storage and a cloakroom be removed from the southern side, which in his
578 Ibidem.
579 Ibidem.
580 Building Board April 27, 1929, Section 2. PSA.
581 Ibidem.