Architect Drawings : A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History
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Wagner, Otto (1841–1918)<br />
Perspective sketch, Vol. 021/30 verso, Museen der Stadt Wein, Inv. Nr. 96.021/30 verso,<br />
34.8 21cm, Ink on paper<br />
Otto Wagner’s work, although originating from a traditional education, anticipated the emergence <strong>of</strong><br />
modern architecture. The innovative use <strong>of</strong> new technologies and materials (wrought iron, glass, and<br />
aluminum) found their way into his architecture. His buildings were <strong>of</strong>ten clad with decorative panels,<br />
as distinctive <strong>of</strong> the Jugendstil, or infused with historical expression. He influenced a generation <strong>of</strong><br />
architects through his teaching and mentoring, such as Adolf Loos, Josef H<strong>of</strong>fmann, and Josef Olbrich.<br />
Born in Penzig, near Vienna, Wagner initially studied at the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna from<br />
1857 to 1859. He enrolled at the Royal Academy <strong>of</strong> Building in Berlin for approximately one year<br />
before moving on to the Vienna Academy from 1861 to 1863. Wagner’s earliest projects were apartment<br />
buildings in Vienna that depended on historical reference. Wagner’s later projects, such as the<br />
Postal Savings Bank Office <strong>of</strong> 1904–1912, relied less on surface ornament and considered new technologies<br />
such as exposed structure. Other notable projects include the Neumann Department Store<br />
(1895), the Church <strong>of</strong> St. Leopold (1905–1907), Die Zeit Telegraph Office (1902), and the Lupus<br />
Sanatorium (1910–1913). He also designed many stations for the Stadtbahn System in Vienna and was<br />
advisor to the Commission for the Regulation <strong>of</strong> the Danube Canal (Geretsegger and Peintner, 1979).<br />
Werner Oechslin, when discussing raiment as a theory to describe Wagner’s architecture, compares<br />
the essence and appearance to the kernel and hull. In a reference to Gottfried Semper, he differentiates<br />
between the ‘essential content’ and the ‘inessential cladding’ (Oechslin, 2002, p. 86). Wagner<br />
believed that innovations in structure should be approached creatively, and he was dismayed with<br />
engineers that were predisposed to utilize concepts literally. He felt that structural elements should<br />
not intersect, but should stand independently to demonstrate their function (Geretsegger and<br />
Peintner, 1964).<br />
Wagner’s sketching style exhibits his control <strong>of</strong> fluid, expressive lines (inessential cladding). In ink<br />
or pencil, the quick lines show evidence <strong>of</strong> erasure but represent a remarkably clear image from his<br />
imagination (essential content). The fast, proportionally accurate, and beautiful sketches also reveal<br />
Wagner’s comfort with his media, achieved with extensive practice. Many <strong>of</strong> his drawings and<br />
sketches were meant as preliminaries, for presentations or competitions. Framed with lines, they use<br />
a dramatic perspective angle and <strong>of</strong>ten include texture and value. Some even reveal the action <strong>of</strong><br />
walking through a building with the drag <strong>of</strong> a pencil, while others exhibit the calculations and hesitation<br />
<strong>of</strong> a pondering mind. 1<br />
This sketch (Figure 5.2) represents an early design for a festival pavilion, built in celebration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
marriage <strong>of</strong> the Crown Prince Rudolf and the Belgian Princess Stephanie in 1881. Wagner proposed<br />
a lighted and decorated processional path (including the Elizabeth Bridge), grandstands, and a festival<br />
structure used to welcome Princess Stephanie into the city (Graf, 1985). The page shows an ink perspective<br />
<strong>of</strong> the pavilion which has been framed with single lines. Although a comprehensive view, it is<br />
a preliminary scheme since it describes different treatment <strong>of</strong> the columns. Lower on the page appears<br />
a blurred form, bleeding through the reverse side <strong>of</strong> the paper. On the reverse <strong>of</strong> this page, a dress<br />
design for Wagner’s second wife Louise Stiffels has been sketched. Perhaps while designing the pavilion,<br />
his wife expressed concern about her attire for the celebration, since as ‘honored citizens’ they<br />
were undoubtedly attending the festivities (Mallgrave, 1993). With this interruption, Wagner may<br />
have turned the paper over and explored designs for her dress.<br />
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