On a tour of southern Finland, seeing the enduring masterworks of architect Alvar Aalto.

Paimio was something else entirely.

As Alvar famously declared: The main purpose of the building is to function as a medical instrument.

Two cyclists pass Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, Finland

Finlandia Hall.Credit:JON SPARKS/ALAMY

MVLAMPILA/ALAMY

My trip started in the calm, orderly capital of Helsinki.

On my way, I stopped in the mill town of Saynatsalo.

Aalto designedSaynatsalo Town Hall,which was completed in 1952 and soon became emblematic of his middle period.

Pair of photos from the Paimio Sanatorium in Finland, one showing a yellow staircase, and one showing a hotel room

From left: Yellow linoleum brightens a staircase at Paimio Sanatorium; a guest room at the former hospital.FROM LEFT: ARTO WIIKARI/COURTESY OF PAIMIO SANATORIUM; COURTESY OF PAIMIO SANATORIUM

After checking in, I sat out in the buildings grassy piazza reading until sundown.

COURTESY OF PAIMIO SANATORIUM

I woke early the next morning to dappled autumn sunlight filtering through pine trees.

I biked to the neighboring island of Muuratsalo, where Alvar and Elissa built their summer home in 1954.

Pair of photos showing a chair designed by Aalvar Aalton, and a seating area in a museum named for him

From left: Armchair 41 “Paimio”; the Aalto2 Museum Center, in Jyväskylä.From left: Courtesy of Paimio Sanatorium; MAIJA HOLMA/COURTESY OF AALTO2 MUSEUM AND ALVAR AALTO FOUNDATION

They wrapped its central courtyard in a brickwork quilt.

Today those walls read as an architectural language in the making.

Aaltos story and Finlands seemed inseparable.

A red brick building in Finland

Säynätsalo Town Hall, which now has rooms for overnight guests.MVLAMPILA/ALAMY

There, Aalto built prefabricated housing, a laundry, and a sauna.

(One now serves as a gallery of vintage Artek furniture, most of it for sale.)

That night, my palms still stained a lurid purple, I wandered through the building.

Inside a home designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto

Inside Villa Skeppet, a private home by Aalto for his friend and biographer Göran Schildt.Pyry Kantonen/Courtesy of Villa Skeppet

Its said that architecture, like any art form, reflects the society that makes it.

Aalto proved that architecture, at its best, can shape society, too.

The exterior of a former sanatorium space in Finland

The orderly exterior of the Paimio Sanatorium.COURTESY OF PAIMIO SANATORIUM

Exterior of Finland Hall, in Helsinki

Finlandia Hall, in Helsinki.MARIIA KAUPPI/COURTESY OF VISIT FINLAND

Exterior of the Villa Skeppet in Finland

Villa Skeppet, in Ekenäs.Pyry Kantonen/Courtesy of Villa Skeppet

Pair of photos, one showing architect Alvar Aalto in his studio, and one showing his design for a noiseless sink

From left: Alvar Aalto in his studio in 1945; an Aalto design drawing from 1932.From left: EINO MÄKINEN/COURTESY OF AALTO2 MUSEUM AND ALVAR AALTO FOUNDATION; COURTESY OF ALVAR AALTO FOUNDATION