History :
Four cities and 48 communities constructed the Paimio hospital, the Sanatorium of Southwest Finland. It is situated in a beautiful ozone-rich pine forest. In 1928 Alvar Aalto won a competition for the design of the tuberculosis sanatorium. The building was completed in 1933. Since the nursing methods for tuberculosis have evolved and the character of sanatoria has changed, certain alterations have been made to the functional and architectural features of the buildings. The operating theatre was designed by Aalto and completed in 1958. In 1964 the open wards were enclosed by walls, and the ordinary wards were refurbished in 1970’s.

Architecture:
The Paimio sanatorium is one of the most renowned examples of the ideology of functionalism, including demands on hygiene and standardisation. At Paimio, the load-bearing structure was a concrete pillar frame, with the exception of the open-air wards, which formed the largest monolithic concrete structure in Finland of its time. Paimio sanatorium consists of four functionally differentiated wings linked by a central part. The patient rooms and rest hall are located away from traffic and oriented toward south and sunlight. Because patients spent long periods in hospital, Aalto designed the wards from the point of view of a patient lying in the bed. The patient spaces are earthy in colour, while the public spaces are brightly coloured.

Paimio Sanatorium is on the Finnish tentative list for inclusion as a World Heritage Site.