Sääksjärven parantolat ja Kiljavan opisto

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Nummela sanatorium and the Kiljava parantola with its surroundings illustrate the development and aims of hospital architecture and the treatment of pulmonary diseases at different times. The Kiljava trade union college on the Sääksjärvi shore area is a typical example of a college environment from the 1950s, fitted into nature.

The pavilion-like main building of Nummela sanatorium and the rest of its building stock, deliberately fitted into its park-like layout and consisting of staff residences and various service facilities, form a well-preserved institutional ensemble from the early years of the 20th century. Its essential features reflect the architectural and therapeutic aims of the original pulmonary sanatorium phase, although the original use ended decades ago. Among the historic institutional buildings that are well preserved externally and partly internally are the doctor's residence, the staff house, the engine room and laundry building, the ice cellar, the pumping station and the head gardener's house. Most of these date from the first decade of the 20th century. The new construction of the psychiatric hospital phase of Nummela sanatorium in the 1960s and 1970s was placed outside the core area of the historic sanatorium. Later extensions carried out while maintaining the pavilion character of the main building, such as those in the 1980s, have, as carefully considered additions to the designs of S.M. Schjerfbeck, become part of a culturally and historically valuable whole.

The hospital built as a tuberculosis sanatorium at Kiljava is a functionalist institution designed by Jussi Paatela in 1936-38, which includes a number of residences for doctors and nursing staff, as well as a heating plant and a sauna. The facade of the main building, which is oriented east-west and consists of several wings, is dominated by a nine-storey hospital block and a separate stair tower with a window-clad surface. The patient rooms are in a five-storey wing more than 100 metres long.

The stone, four-storey main building of the Kiljava trade union college was completed in 1950. The top floor of the plain, light-coloured building has a viewing terrace. Later, in connection with the college, a fitness centre with accommodation and swimming halls, as well as teaching and group work premises, have been built, among other things.

History

The fight against tuberculosis, which had become a national disease, took concrete form in the building of dozens of tuberculosis sanatoriums and hospitals, from the 1890s to the mid-20th century. Among the first institutions founded were two popular sanatoria established by medical societies, and both began operating in 1903. One was the Duodecim Society's Takaharju sanatorium at Punkaharju, and the other was the Finska Läkaresällskapet's Nummela sanatorium at Nurmijärvi.

A special committee was appointed in 1895 to plan the building of the Nummela sanatorium. In 1899 the Finska Läkaresällskapet received permission from the Senate to lease, as the sanatorium site, an area that the committee had ended up proposing after deliberation. The design of the sanatorium's buildings was entrusted to architect S.M. Schjerfbeck, who, as part of the preparatory work for the design, became familiar with solutions for the new type of institution in Finland and with the latest developments during a study trip to several European countries.

The new building programme for the Nummela sanatorium was defined in 1901, and Schjerfbeck's building plans were completed the following year. The sanatorium was inaugurated for use on 23.11.1903. During the 1910s, and among other times in the late 1920s, additional and new building works were carried out at the sanatorium to designs by architect Hj. Åberg. The development of the sanatorium's surroundings was based partly on a 1911 plan by Helsinki city gardener Svante Olsson. When operation as a tuberculosis sanatorium ended in the latter part of the 1950s, the City of Helsinki bought the institution for use as a B-mielisairaala (B mental hospital). The new purpose required alteration and additional building measures, the most significant of which was the renovation and extension project carried out in 1981-1984, designed by the architectural office Kirsti and Erkki Helama. Operations at the Röykkä mental hospital ceased in early 1997.

The Kiljavannummi tuberculosis sanatorium was founded jointly by the City of Helsinki and several municipalities in Southern Finland. It was placed in the Kiljava kruununpuisto, from which a 45-hectare area was separated for the sanatorium. The sanatorium later operated as Kiljava Hospital, whose operations ceased in 2001.

Kiljava opisto was completed in 1950 as the SAK ammattiyhdistysopisto (trade union college), thanks to donations and voluntary labour. The college consisted of a main building, a dining hall, teaching rooms and staff housing. In 1966 a fitness centre was built in connection with the college. It contained a large ball game hall, a physical training hall, a lecture hall, doctors' examination rooms, a café and accommodation for 70 people. The fitness centre was later extended with a swimming hall. In 1976 teaching and group work rooms and a language studio came into use at the college. In addition, 60 accommodation rooms facing the lake were built on the hillside terrain.