Fig. 3.6.1c. Aalto’s standard drawing of a wall-mounted radiator. It would appear that the
radiator design was never finished by the architect because he failed to attach to his team
the contractor he had wanted to work with. Drawing No. 50-202. The drawing has been
edited. AAM.requested Voima- ja polttoainetaloudellinen yhdistys (The Energy and Fuel Economy
Association) to evaluate the tenders, and as a result, Vesijohtoliike Onninen’s (Plumbing
Company Onninen) tender was evaluated as the lowest in price, although it required fur-
ther information. Aalto and Raita were appointed to carry out the contract negotiations.^913
While the contract negotiations were ongoing, the Building Committee initiated
further investigations on radiator heaters.^914 It viewed the radiators^915 at Vesi ja Lämpö
(Water and Heat) corporation’s office in Helsinki and discussed the use of the new
type of radiators with the Director General of the State Medical Board and Senior
Medical Officer Edward Horelli, who took a positive view on the alternative.^916 The
Building Committee proposed the use of radiator heaters in the patient rooms and
dining hall to the Building Committee.^917 The matter was introduced by Aalto, who
commended the radiators’ smooth surface for being easy to clean. Aalto also pointed
out that, owing to their radiation qualities, they created no draught or circulation of
dust in the indoor air, as normal radiators would. Furthermore, the temperature of the
patient room could be adjusted to a couple of degrees lower than with conventional
radiators, as radiator heaters emit more heat into solid objects than the surrounding
913 Onninen had offered less equipment in its tender than had been the requirement, for which reason further nego-
tiations had to be organised. Building Committee March 16, 1931, Section 1. PSA.
914 Building Committee March 16, 1931, Section 2. PSA.
915 Lämpö ja Voima Oy had contracted the water, sewage and heating pipes of the Pohja insurance company, com-
pleted in the same year. Their recessed, plain sheet radiators had been used under the window in the Pohja
Insurance Building. Kallio 1930, p. 124.
916 Building Committee March 27, 1931, Section 1. PSA.
917 Building Committee March 27, 1931, Section 2. PSA.