Top international design dealers, Jacksons celebrate the career of the Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto at Design Miami/ Basel 2013. They will be focusing on one of his greatest architectural achievements–The Paimio Sanatorium. As a prominent fgure in the revival of “Organic Architecture”, Aalto’s work began in the 1920s with a more natural approach to functionalism. He invigorated European modernism with a humanistic touch rooted in nature, tradition, and intuition. Aalto’s allusions to Finland’s natural resources and landscape created a living symbiosis between physical nature and the psychology of everyday human needs.
London born Paul Jackson, has partnered with architects Pierre Jorge Gonzalez and Judith Haase to recreate an abstracted version of a patient’s room at the Paimio Sanatorium. The booth also features a selection of original glass, lighting, and furniture that Aalto had designed during his prolifc career.
The Paimio Sanatorium, offcially inaugurated in June 1933, had been the ideal opportunity for Aalto to execute his philosophy of Gesamtkunstwerk. He was commissioned to design not only the building, but virtually everything inside including lighting, sinks, bathroom shelves, and door handles.
Aalto’s priority in designing the Sanatorium had been to promote the physiological and psychological recuperation of the individual patient, although different functions coexisted to also build community. He advocated the well-being of the weakest person, who spent the majority of his time in the hospital room lying in bed. By situating the patients’ wing on the north side of the corridor, natural light was fltered into the room so that patients could feel they had control over the space. He also utilized indirect light in his lamp designs to minimize glare. In contrast to public areas, the color scheme of the patient’s room was more traditional and intimate, and he chose the color of the ceiling to mimic that of the sky.
Aalto based his components on standardization, which could be manufactured industrially. However, their production did not imply mechanical replication but opened up the possibility for variation. Many of his breakthrough pieces are still in production today and are considered international classics.
Jacksons based in Stockholm, Sweden have stated; “The artistic concept and realisation of the Jacksons booth would not be possible without the creative inspiration and support of Lee Mindel of Shelton Mindel & Associates, a true mentor of Scandinavian Architecture and Design”.