Paimio Sanatorium: Future vision
We didn’t just inherit a masterpiece. We inherited a masterclass in designing our shared future. The same principles that guided the Aaltos are more poignant than ever in healing societies, today and in the future.
Change vision: A medical instrument for future societies
The Paimio Sanatorium was built in 1933 as an advanced medical facility for tuberculosis patients. The Aaltos designed the entire site as a medical instrument to bring people hope and healing during the most devastating pandemic of its time. Today, the Sanatorium stands as an iconic representation of functionalist architecture – but it can be much more than that.
The Sanatorium asked Måndag to create a future vision and strategy for the site that will attract people from all over the world, beyond architectural pilgrims; sets the bar (high) for curating a program that caters to both individual and communal healing; and moves the Sanatorium from a seasonal attraction to an around-the-year destination. We saw an opportunity to build on the brave, progressive vision of the Aaltos and create a place that is not just one of many world’s amazing buildings to visit once in a lifetime, but a place that starts to shape the collective well-being of future societies.
Action: A mothership of creativity and inspiration
Aaltos’ design ethos, as expressed in their work for the Paimio Sanatorium, shows that architecture isn’t just about constructing buildings; it’s about creating holistic systems that consider the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of individuals and communities.
A radical collaboration between architects, master craftsmen, medical researchers and nature, Aalto’s vision fuses creative problem-solving, progressive thinking and a deep love for humanity in service of healing people. Now more than ever, we need all of that, in one place; a place that brings together people from diverse backgrounds to imagine long-term solutions for the well-being of us all. The Sanatorium will, once again, become a place of active healing – for individuals, communities, and our world.
Impact: We inherited the future
As humanity faces unprecedented systems-level problems, hope and progressive thinking beyond what’s possible today are key for our shared future. Bold leaps forward, fuelled by working together and learning from each other guides both the Sanatorium heritage and way forward.
Måndag’s future vision builds on the Aalto heritage of future-making, bringing in diverse knowledge, networks and activism. It has helped the Sanatorium curate an outstanding, impact-focused program around values of care and collective wellbeing, such as the Spirit of Paimio Conference and podcast. It’s also helped secure key hires to implement the bold vision for the Sanatorium’s future, such as curator Joseph Grima, brought on to bring this new platform for thinking, learning and doing alive with an ambitious program of conferences, residencies, exhibitions and workshops; and top culture strategist Tina Vaz to raise international visibility.