Alvar Alto Design Theory Paimio Sanatorium

The figurehead of modernism and leader of bringing architecture back to the human scale that once was, Alvar Aalto is now an architectural inspiration to us all. Aalto did non physical exertion his architecture as a learning tool but more as a intercommunicate toward the emotional and physical needs of man. His architecture was meant to enrich the lives of those it served. Aalto foc drilld on context in position in relation to the human body. Forms, light and shadow were inspired by the Finnish forests Aalto grew up near.When he was a child he do drawings of the landscape that influenced his later built projects in their relationships to horizons and vertical connections, partitions and argument plan. He brought us buildings that involved form, light, and color, along with many other attributes all over the world including the Viipuri Library, the Paimio Sanatorium, and charge Mt. Angel Library here in Oregon. Functional Room Functional Design The populate in the patient ro les wing are arranged on the north cheek of the corridor.By siting the rooms on integrity side only, Aalto was able to bring natural light into the corridor and give the patients the feeling that they were in control of the space. Aalto studied the tippytoe of the fair weatherlight in conjunction with the heating system. Sun blinds were fixed divulgeside the windows to cut d cause solar gain. The whole building was intentional in all(prenominal) aspect to make the patients confinement tolerable and to wait on in their healing. Their rooms were designed with a horizontal person in mind.The source of heat comes down from the ceiling, one wall was lined in absorbent insulation to make acoustics more restful, and the window frames in the rooms were timber to reduce condensation and be warmer to touch. the washbasins were designed to run silently and had to be intimatelynessful and easy to vacuous (unsuccessfully in practice). The pipe work was concealed in the walls, whereas prior to this pipes were usually surface-fixed. Aalto had his own ideas about the ceilings for example. The ceiling of the room should be the colour of the sky, The lighting came from a wall mounted uplighter out of the patients sight where it was diffused throughout the room. Since the ceiling was painted in darker tones, the ceiling sweep reflecting the light had to be painted a lighter one. The door handles were created with as much methodical attention to detail. They were designed so coat sleeves or pockets couldnt get caught and they had rounded edges in case patients should happen to knock into them. Rose wine cellar In the Sanatorium death was an everyday reality, so naturally in that respect was a mortuary on the site.The Rose Cellar, as the mortyary was called, disappeared into the terrain and took its figure of speech from the roses covering the mound of earth in front of it only the holes drill into the wooden door in the form of a cross gave a clue as to the use of the building. The mortuary is a light, whitewashed concrete vault lit by a capital light. A black-painted wooden catafalque rests on the brick-red floor and the partitioningition that divides the bendingd vault has an abstract painting by Aalto and the Turku operative Eino Kauria. Viper hall The nurses home, known as the hall of vipers, was designed and built in 1060-63.It is a two-storey, four-part building, with each part joined to the next by an drawn-in linking element. It de part from Aaltos 1930s buildings brinyly in that, instead of a flat roof, it has a pitched roof and the detailing does not focus nearly as much on metal. The name is derived from the fact that the building wriggles gently across the terrain. Stairs Tuberculosis was treated with fresh air, so that sun beds suitable for external use were needed. They emerged as the result of some specialist design work, as did the overwinter sleeping bags made of sheepskin that were part of the sun beds.The whole interi or of the building is pervaded by health giving light, most powerfully in the stair cases, where sun spills down huge areas of glazing. Where the effort of move up was incorporated as part of the healing process. Tree section Aalto believed that the health of every person depends to a great cessation on his submission to the conditions of nature This came from the fact that medicine was not advanced plentiful to heal alone, so healing came from being take out of the crowded, disease infested cities where the sun, space and breeze of the inelegant would help heal.The flat finnish landscape made a stepped section unsuitable, the roof terrace is consequently used for treatment for summer and winter alike stretching the entire length of the patient ward, where the fitter patients could go and take in the spectacular views across the vast forest, each sun-deck beneath was cantilevered to take in the sunshine, like the branches of a tree. Organism for Healing The health of every pers on depends a great extent on his submission to the condition of nature.The outer buildings are module starting with the head physicians house they beget and multiply like they are a dividing organism until you get to the patients ward and the rooms are most exponential in comparison. The building is designed to be a organism for healing, each room is catered to the patient with the use of sun, greenery, and space it helps them in their healing process. Forest The Patients rooms looked out over an unhabited forest which is visually brought into the building as posts, vertical lines, windows and columns.The pine forest was a powerful source of healing and intrust for the finish patients, it is also therapeutic to the community whos collective soul deeply embraces the protective woods and trees. It is hard to hypothesise the impact the sanatorium must have had on patients. The dedication to serving their needs manifested in every detail and the optimistic uplifteing quality of its light filled spaces. Symmetry as parts (medical and proper man) vs. asymmetry as a whole (natural and living) The plan of the building is laid out in distinguishable sections.Each section is symmetric or on a central axis. The building as a whole does not have a central axis but is asymmetrically in balance. Sort of like a human body that is being treated for a current condition. The focus is put on parts of the physical body, but as a whole the body makes up a person or a human being. Technology is manmade human creating a function from natural sources Aalto liked to use materials in their natural reconcile in his buildings. He also liked to take advantage of how modern engine room could assist the daily needs of the large number in his buildings.In the Sanitarium, he created manmade elements made from elements close to their natural state as a gesture towards to needs of the patients, doctors, and nurses using the spaces. Plasticity and Fluidity (like natures organic forms) Throughout the Paimio Sanitarium, certain spaces have a plastic form that is almost like a landmark in that area of the building. These forms seem to mimic the organic forms that can be found in nature like the curve of the terrain on the hill, or the edge of the tree creating a fluid line that separates its branches from the sky.They are found in the central stair of the tower and the overhang above the entrance to the building. Facing the Sun During this time there were not any antibiotics or specific medicines for the treatment of tuberculosis. The best treatment for the condition was dry climate, greenery, fresh, clean air, and a lot of sun. With having a south facing slope it makes sense to position the patients rooms and the roof terrace to face the sun. A Landscape representing time modern, ancient, and current. This picture really represents a lot of different times in the culture of the area.The pastures and fields in the foreground represent the current lives of the citi zens of Paimio they are healthy, providing resources and exit about their daily lives. In the middle ground there is the forest- it is natural growth and holds a frame of history in the culture of the nation. Then, rising above it all is the Sanitarium a modern small-arm of architecture at the time that still stands as a landmark. Architecturally, it was a glimpse into what would be in the future and functionally it was a humble reminder of the hard times.Conclusion. The solution Aalto created for solving the needs of battalion to fit in with their comfortable natural state while gaining the positive effects of the industrialization at the time was to give people the creative freedom to make their spaces unique to themselves and their needs. He wanted people to remember their individualism. Finding the potential value in humans and emphasizing their common needs became Aaltos main purpose in architecture in his later years. This can be seen in his public buildings as well as in his churches and houses.Aalto believed that people should live a democratic and individualistic breedingstyle. He called for the humanization of all things including his architecture. It was important to address how humans move and travel through space and also how they populate it. The needs of the user were considered. In all of his projects, Aalto stressed meaning of the project to the client as well as to himself. He looked at the perspectives of the users and found ways to enhance those perspectives, for example the chairs in the Sanatorium were designed to make it easier for the patients to breathe.His architecture was meant to enrich the lives of those it served. In the Paimio Sanitarium in particular, Aaltos attention to psychological spaces enhancing the quality of life for the users, relation to the other buildings in the area, having a form that follows the function, and specific detail in the technical equipment made it all come together to create a well designed a pproach to the site and the people that dwell within it in a beautiful piece of modern architecture.