Gotthard Bank, Lugano, Switzerland (Preliminary sketch)
Mario Botta
Swiss, born 1943
1982–1986
A pair of graphite-on-tracing-paper studies by Mario Botta exploring the massing and a pronounced vertical service core for his Gotthard Bank in Lugano, testing how stacked cantilevered elements meet a heavy rectangular volume.
What hits you first is the energetic, sketchy pencil—parallel hatching, repeated outlines and translucent overlays—that makes the building read as a monumental block pierced by a rhythmic sequence of jutting terraces or stair slabs.
These sketches show Botta’s reliance on hand drawing to develop his signature language of solid geometry and central verticality, a crucial moment in late 20th‑century architecture where conceptual drawing shaped the translation of sculptural ideas into built form.
Medium
Graphite on tracing paper
Dimensions
.1: 12 x 10 3/4" (30.5 x 27.3 cm)
.2: 12 x 8 5/8" (30.5 x 22 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Banca del Gottardo
Accession
210.1987.1-2
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
