The Computer Graphic Capitol

Model snapshot of east facade of the South Wing

The Capitol's facades at the North and South Wings were designed by William Thornton, who won the competition for the Capitol in 1793. Thornton's pattern book solution for the monumental building, an English Baroque design derived from William Chambers, was thought by Latrobe to be old fashioned. But he was stuck with it, as the design had received the approbation of George Washington himself could not be deviated from.

Latrobe's mission essentially was to infill Thornton's exterior shell, making the building buildable with appropriate structure, creating the building's program, and infusing the interior with his own aesthetic. This first campaign, therefore, was not unlike John Soane's infill project at the Bank of England, a project Latrobe had known from his London years.