Kaune.^791 The Building Board decided that ultraviolet glass, or U-glass, would only
be used in the windows of two patient floors, as instructed by a specialist physician.^792
The building industry representatives were actively contacting Aalto and, in return,
Aalto asked sales representatives about the features of various part deliveries, obtain-
ing, as a result, information on innovations in the field. Some agents were also offering
foreign-made steel window systems for the project. In May 1931, the Helsinki-based
Nic. H. Mannsdorff approached the architect by advertising window fittings and
offered to draw up an offer for the Dutch Braat windows to be used in the Paimio
Sanatorium. The letter referred to a telephone conversation with Aalto and said that
the company had exclusive retail rights for Braat windows and doors in Finland.
Aalto had used the Crittal Braat system for the Turun Sanomat building, when the
Gothenburg company Torsten Linbeck had represented the system in Finland.^793 An
offer on Braat windows was never requested for Paimio Sanatorium. In December
1931, Aalto also received a letter from T. Bonnevie who, on behalf of Yale & Towne,
invited Aalto to visit the company’s workshop in Germany. Bonnevie also enquired in
his letter whether Aalto could send a sketch of Paimio Sanatorium, so that they could
prepare an offer on steel windows.^794 Bonnevie was, naturally, much too late with his
queries at this stage of construction.
In February 1931, Aalto was in contact with the Helsinki company Hartkopp &
Krüger, who sent a letter to Aalto, written in German, regarding the special windows
for the operating theatre. The company had a suitable window for the theatre, manu-
factured by the German company, Garny. The window had been used in the operating
theatre of the Deaconess Hospital in Lötzen, East Prussia, where an operation had
been carried out requiring an indoor temperature of 28 degrees on a day when the
outdoor temperature had been -30 degrees centigrade. The window offered had coupled
sashes with an air lock in between, the temperature of which could be adjusted.^795 The
design of the window at the Lötzen Deaconess Hospital helped Aalto understand the
special requirement for operating theatre windows.
Hartkopp & Krüger also sent Aalto an advertisement explaining the opening
mechanism of Vita Glasjalousien ventilation windows. Aalto subsequently applied a
similar solution in the dining hall of the B building.^796 The patient room windows had
external blinds designed by Aalto, and the dining hall awnings, which were ordered
from Suomen Persiennetehdas (Finnish Shutter Factory).^797
791 Building Committee August 8, 1931, Section 1. PSA.
792 Building Committee August 21, 1931, Section 1. PSA.
793 Aalto 1930c, p. 83.
794 Bonnevie’s letter to Alvar Aalto, December 2, 1931. Documents related to the Paimio Sanatorium project. AAM.
795 Hartkopp & Krüger’s letter to Alvar Aalto February 17, 1931. Documents related to the Paimio Sanatorium project. AAM.
796 Drawing No. 50-352. AAM.
797 Building Committee May 5, 1931, Section 1. PSA.