Chapter 3 | The Building of Paimio SanatoriumThe hospital furniture acquisitions were based on model pieces, as especially evi-
dent in the case of the wardrobe purchase. From the perspective of design philosophy,
the evolution of the patient room wardrobe from a metal sheet cabinet through a
rectangular plywood cabinet with a separate frame into a fully opening wardrobe,
in which the material formed its supporting frame, is an interesting process. The
material, the structure and the use of space changed through the different stages of
design. The wardrobe changed from a static piece into a mobile one. The product
development progressed between February and September 1932, in collaboration
with the manufacturer and the designer, before and after the offer had been formally
accepted. A similar use of nesting and combining two functions is exhibited in the
two-piece combination of the bedside table and drawer unit. The bed design grew
simpler during the design process and it did not have mobile features. The patient
room chair, originally made of bent plywood with a tubular steel frame, became a
timber structured one. The reason for this alteration was probably the price.
The light fittings were a topical design task, as electricity was used to an increasing
degree and the quality of light bulbs improved.^898 Helge Kjäldman had introduced
three principles of overhead lighting in a 1927 issue of Arkkitehti (The Finnish Archi-
tectural Journal): direct, semi-diffuse and diffuse, which were similar to the principles
discussed by Gispen in his article of the following year in the Deutscher Werkbund
publication, Innenräume (Interiors), a volume that Aalto had in his library.^899 Norvasuo
has argued that Poul Henningsen related to Aalto the method in which analytical and
empirical approaches converged and were utilised in creating the form of a light fit-
ting.^900 Bauhaus, in contrast, was interested in lamps as sculptural objects.^901 Norvasuo
has also maintained that the overhead lighting in the Paimio patient room represented
the view that gained popularity among architects in the 1930s, according to which
light-coloured ceilings or walls could be used instead of reflecting surfaces incorporated
in the lamp. According to Norvasuo, Aalto’s patient room lighting design appeared to
be a compromise, in which technically appropriate lighting and an experientially satis-
factory environment have been brought together.^902 What is significant is that Aalto’s
lighting design developed in parallel with its execution. Initially, the reflecting surface
was part of the light fitting instead of a light-coloured area on the ceiling. The design
of the lamp probably changed owing to cost pressures, and was altered in collaboration
with Taito’s designer and factory owner Paavo Tynell.
Besides rays of light, like Henningsen, Aalto also studied the reflection of sound.
Furthermore, it would seem that a calm acoustic environment was a more important
factor than the lighting in the sanatorium environment. This would be the rationale
898 Norvasuo 2009, p. 33.
899 See Kjäldman 1927, pp. 37–41; Gispen 1928, pp. 147–152; Norvasuo 2009, p. 37.
900 Norvasuo 2009, pp. 53–54.
901 Banham 1984 [1969], pp. 129–130 and pp. 36–137.
902 Norvasuo 2009, p. 79.