The architects used sequential numbering on certain sets of drawings, but a large
proportion of the drawings were unnumbered. Amongst the material, certain design
documents would seem to form coherent series, allowing us to form a picture of the
progress and different stages of design and construction work. The material included
freehand sketches, which were linked with the competition stage.^596 The competi-
tion-stage drawings were easily identifiable thanks to the vignette marking on their
top left corner.^597 The vignette showed the patient room window with the word “motto”
above. The title of the competition entry was Piirretty ikkuna (Drawn Window). The
competition sheets were identifiable also by the hand-written number ‘9’, which was
the number assigned by the competition jury to the entry.
Once the competition result had been announced and the design contract signed,
Aalto set out to design the four-storey sanatorium for 184 patients. The decree stipu-
lated that drawings on the actual hospital buildings specify the location and height of
rooms, the number of beds to be placed in each room, the structure of windows, and
lighting, heating and ventilation equipment.^598 Aalto presented his designs to the
Building Board in December 1929, as scheduled.^599 The Building Board took note
that the architect had for the most part incorporated the changes as required by var-
ious parties during the competition stage.^600 The Building Board refrained, however,
from confirming the drawings at this time, as it had in the meantime entered into
negotiations with the City of Turku on their possible participation in the project. The
Turku authorities had approached the Building Board before Christmas 1929 and
enquired under which conditions it could join the project.^601 A confirmation on Turku
joining the project was received in February 1930, which meant that the number of
beds was to be increased by one hundred, while the number of staff would remain
unchanged from the original 70. Aalto was assigned the task of updating the design to
accommodate the new situation and his fees were raised accordingly.^602 The changes
created a need to improve the efficiency of the staff facilities. A series of drawings has
been preserved that relate to the design phase in the spring of 1930, when Aalto was
compelled to reassess the building design that had been fairly complete by this time.^603
Aalto based his changes on this existing work but also created some new designs from
scratch. For example, the load-bearing structure has been marked in red pencil on top
of the older black pencil drawings. The orientation of the main staircase was changed
by 90 degrees, the number of floors in the A wing increased by two, the elevations
were redesigned and the solution for the reinforced concrete frame took shape. In the
596 Drawings from No. 50-638 to No. 50-654. AAM.
597 Drawings from No. 50-24 to No. 50-33. Drawing No. 50-655 is the vignette drawing presenting Aalto’s window
design, which did not appear as an independent drawing amongst the competition sheets. AAM.
598 Asetus valtionavusta 270/1929, pykälä 3. (Decree on State Aid 270/1929, Section 3).
599 Drawings from No. 50-62 to No. 50-65, No- 50-68, No. 50-71 and No. 50-73 are of this design phase. AAM.
600 Building Board December 8, 1929, Section 2. PSA.
601 A letter from the Town Council of the City of Turku to the Building Board on December 19, 1929 is attached to the
minutes. Building Board December 22, 1929, Section 2. PSA.
602 The fee was raised by FIM 69,000. Building Board March 15, 1930, Section 11. PSA.
603 Drawings from No. 50-656 to 50-708. AAM.