In this episode, Beatriz Colomina discusses with Hanna Harris what she calls the road not taken in architecture: designing not only for the idealized, healthy, upright body, but also for the vulnerable — the sick, the elderly, those whose needs often remain invisible. She highlights how Aino and Alvar Aalto’s human approach at Paimio Sanatorium already pointed in this direction, shaped by their sensitivity to patients’ experiences and even their own encounters with illness.

The conversation also touches on pandemics and how they have reshaped architecture, both historically and in our own time.

Beatriz Colomina is a renowned architectural historian and theorist, and a professor at Princeton University. Her research focuses on the relationship between architecture, media, and society, with significant contributions to understanding modernism and contemporary design through her influential books and exhibitions.

This conversation was recorded at the 2024 Spirit of Paimio Conference, hosted in the iconic Paimio Sanatorium — Alvar and Aino Aalto’s modernist masterpiece from the 1930s.

Discover more at www.paimiosanatorium.com

In this episode Hanna Harris discusses with Susanna Pettersson, CEO of The Finnish Cultural Foundation about the possibility of radical marriage of capital and preservation? What is the role of the agents who make culture in bringing cultural values forward? And why Paimio Sanatorium can be a platform or mothership for creativity and inspiration? 

Join Susanna Pettersson and Hanna Harris in Spirit of Paimio.

Susanna Pettersson, CEO of The Finnish Cultural Foundation, was interviewed by Hanna Harris, Chief Design Officer at the City of Helsinki.

Paimio Sanatorium is a modernist masterpiece from 1930’s by Alvar and Aino Aalto. Spirit of Paimio is a series of intergenerational and interdisciplinary dialogues and interactions of reflection on architecture’s role in “taking care” bringing Aalto’s design ethos in our time.

In this episode Hanna Harris discusses with Max Fraser about possible futures of Paimio Sanatorium, an architectural icon. Will it  be an institution or what guise it needs to take in next life? Why it is important to be local before you can be global? And why will buildings with architecture of hope survive?

Join Max Fraser and Hanna Harris in Spirit of Paimio.

Max Fraser, Editorial Director of Dezeen, was interviewed by Hanna Harris, Chief Design Officer at the City of Helsinki.

Paimio Sanatorium is a modernist masterpiece from 1930’s by Alvar and Aino Aalto.

In this episode Hanna Harris discusses with Otto Lowe about possibilities of 3D in preserving and exhibiting architecture and art. Is it just to create more entry points for people to cherish artifacts and buildings or is there more to it? And what is the importance of local communities in preservation? 

Join Otto Lowe and Hanna Harris in Spirit of Paimio.

Otto Lowe, Head of 3D in Factum Foundation, was interviewed by Hanna Harris, Chief Design Officer at the City of Helsinki.

Paimio Sanatorium is a modernist master piece from 1930’s by Alvar and Aino Aalto.

In this episode Hanna Harris discusses with Kieran Long about how institutions can help us to have a common playing field in polarizing public conversations? What can big institutions like V&A learn from their histories? Why do we need personal commitment at the core of great institution? And can architecture still heal?

Join Kieran Long and Hanna Harris in Spirit of Paimio.

Kieran Long is director of ArkDes, Sweden's National Center for Architecture and Design was interviewed by Hanna Harris, Chief Design Officer at the City of Helsinki.

 Paimio Sanatorium is a modernist master piece from 1930’s by Alvar and Aino Aalto.

In this episode Lyndon Neri discuss with Hanna Harris Paimio Sanatorium as medical instrument.  What is the master class Paimio Sanatorium gave us in how architecture and design can shape the future? Why do we need healing architecture today? What are the key perspectives for bringing it to fruition today? Join Hanna Harris and Lyndon Neri in Spirit of Paimio.

Lyndon Neri is founding partner of Neri&Hu, design and research office, an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai. Through his practice, Neri has reinforced a core vision: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a critical paradigm in architecture, while believing strongly in research as a design tool, as each project bears its unique set of contextual issues.

Hanna Harris has a special multidisciplinary background as a Licentiate of Social Sciences and Urban Researcher. In her current position as a Chief Design Officer at the City of Helsinki she aims to position Helsinki as the most functional city in the world.

Paimio Sanatorium is a modernist masterpiece from 1930’s by Aino and Alvar Aalto.

https://paimiosanatorium.com/