In this episode, Spencer Bailey joins Petri Burtsoff at Paimio Sanatorium to reflect on memorials, memory, and architecture. Bailey discusses why Paimio itself can be seen as a kind of memorial — both to Aalto’s design ethos and to the lives once shaped within its walls.

He explores the role of abstraction and metaphor in great memorials, how built spaces can function as portals that change us, and why architecture has the power to preserve collective memory in an age of fleeting attention. Drawing from his own experiences as a survivor and his research on memorials worldwide, Bailey considers what today’s architects might learn from the emotional resonance of these spaces.

Spencer Bailey is a writer, editor, and co-founder of The Slowdown, known for his thoughtful insights on design, architecture, and culture.

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.