Page 19 - Sajo ENG

1923

CITY BANK

3 Hansastraße, Dortmund

The bank, standing on a corner plot, was not built using clinker bricks, typical
of the period and the region, but tuff ashlars. Its two symmetrical wings are
connected by a concave section, the one-storey entrance of which joins the
main façade in a semicircle. The single ornamental feature of the entrance
are the plant motifs decorating the wrought-iron gates, as well as the name
of the bank above them, inscribed in an Art Deco style. A pronounced vertical
character already emerged in the Jugendstil architecture of department stores
in Germany after 1905, and some of its solutions are adopted in this design
too: the entire block-like façade with a solid surface is articulated vertically by
pilasters and loophole-like windows. Although the exterior façade of the U-plan
building is enclosed like a fortress, the upstairs section of the interior is lent an
airiness by the circular arcades: an impressive cash register hall can be found on
the ground floor (the zigzag motif Sajó later perfected in his Debrecen buildings
is already noticeable in his interior design here) and offices opening from the
circular corridor are on the next level. Natural light is provided by glazing, which
continues in a skylight on the top floor.

The building, distinguished by a slightly archaic yet modern style, is still standing
and houses the city’s art museum.

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