Post Office Savings Bank Vienna

Built in two phases in 1903-6 the Vienna Post Office Savings Bank is Otto Wagner’s most technically advanced building and most mature work of architecture. It epitomizes the state of modern architecture in Vienna in the early years of this century with its extensive use of new materials, especially aluminium, its neat rational structure and well-lit spaces. The exterior is covered in light-coloured marble panels held in place by metal-studded bolts set out in a decorative, pattern-like Jugendstil framework. Internally, the barrel-vaulted banking hall proved remarkably successful, with its transparent roof, white walls and exposed steel structure. The building also incorporates a fresh air circulation system for both the offices and the public space.