Progress on Länderbank Model

Work on the digital model of the Länderbank is coming along. I hope to finish the model this week and begin working on the model for the Postsparkasse. The drawings are progressing more slowly than I had hoped, due in great part to the almost entire lack of access to original drawings from the architects. Apparently I came during the wrong part of the summer and many libraries are closed, museums have restricted hours, and the one place that has original drawings by Otto Wagner is closed for renovations. So I am using drawings that fit on 8.5X11 or smaller page and am working out the scale as best I can, using photographs to fill in detail information that is illegible in the small drawings.

The model of the Länderbank is sectional, cut down the two axes of symmetry in the building. It will show the interior spaces and major structural elements of the building, as well as the facade. The purpose of the model and the drawings which will be derived from it, is to illustrate the use of both modern and traditional elements in the building.

It is easy to see from the use of doric columns, from the facade (not yet in the model) and from the apse-like banking hall space that Wagner took his inspiration from classical architecture. However, elements such as the flat glass roof (not yet in the model) and the vertical connections between spaces signaled Wagner's tendencies toward modern concepts.

Currently, the bottom 3 floors are complete. The facade and further 2 floors should be done in a few days. Visible in this quick plot of the model are the large banking hall, the entrance vestibule, the basement areas, and some of the offices.