ABSTRACT
Inaugurated in 1933, Alvar Aalto’s tuberculosis sanatorium1 in Paimio has become one of the icons of modernism, featuring in countless histories of modern architecture. Whether driven and justied by ‘modern construction methods’, technical developments or the logical architectural outcome of the demands of medical sciences, modernist expression developed a variety of shades. They all claimed to be rational, functional for their respective purposes; based on ‘international’ if not ‘universal’ grounds, rather than dependent on national traditions or ideologies. This chapter examines the extent to which Aalto’s sanatorium was a response to the national, political and economical conditions of the time, and thus presents an expression of emerging Finnish national aspiration. It investigates if a universal, rationalist project could claim to be nationally Finnish at the same time. How can this seemingly neutralized architecture be framed in specic national terms?
