Chapter 3 | The Building of Paimio Sanatoriumthrough the cavity. The large windows in the end wall and the outer window of one of
the corner cabinets were glazed from the outside using metal glazing beads.^757 There
was also one pencil sketch of the window wall in question preserved in the archives.^758
There were 17 architectural drawings related to wooden windows. Two of them
were designs for the wooden sliding windows, which did not correspond to the realised
windows. The drawings for the wooden windows were dated between August 1930 and
September 1931, with most dated between March and June 1931. They were mainly
drawn by architect Lars Wiklund. As a general observation, Aalto’s practice produced
a fairly large number of window details, and certain solutions recurred: most of the
wooden windows had coupled double-sash windows. The external pane was usually
fixed and the interior window could be opened for cleaning.^759 The external panes were
fixed with glazing putty, and the inside panes with glazing beads. The method of clean-
ing the external window was not specified.
The use of different windows was hierarchical in relation to the space in which they
were used. Wooden windows were used in secondary spaces, such as the corridor off
the sundeck in A wing^760 , staircase E in C wing^761 and the staff social room’s corner
window^762 on the second floor of C wing. The architects were well-versed in this area,
which showed in the exhaustiveness and level of detail of the drawings.
There were two skylight drawings, presenting three different window types. One of
the drawings was related to the separate morgue and to skylights in the main lobby.^763
In the other drawing, the top-glass of the cylindrical skylight in the operating theatre
was rough cast glass, installed at an angle of incline 1:20. The inner surface of the
cylinder was insulated with insulite. The top-part of the cylinder was equipped with
cups for collecting condensated water, with the surgical lamp fitted in the middle with
steel brackets and seven spot lights in the internal surface of the concrete cylinder. The
lower glass was a conical milk glass cap.^764 The four cylindrical skylights in the main
lobby largely represented a similar window type as the one in the operating theatre,
only without electric light fittings. The drawings did not specify the lower glass but a
photograph^765 taken from the newly completed lobby shows that the lower glass surface
was on the same level as the ceiling and not conical. The skylights were steel-framed.
757 Drawing No. 50-332. AAM.
758 Drawing No. 50-749. AAM.
759 This type of window was presented, for example, in drawings Nos. 50-165, 50-314 and 50-385. AAM.
760 Drawing No. 50-315. AAM.
761 Drawing No. 50-314. AAM.
762 Drawing No. 50-311. AAM.
763 Drawing No. 50-358. AAM
764 Drawing No. 50-267. AAM.
765 Photograph No. 50-003-319. AAM.