wank was recruited by the tennessee valley authority (tva) in 1933 as that organization's first chief architect. his first work for them was to design norris, a settlement for tva workers. he went on to redesign the norris dam itself, taking the existing engineering proposal and simplifying its overall appearance, removing ornament, and pulling the structural masses into a more coherent and dramatic spatial composition. wank also opened the powerhouse to public view, with a reception room staffed with information officers. although the original engineers were not pleased, the tva board was, and wank went on to give a distinctively modern look to subsequent tva projects like the fontana dam, the chickamauga dam, and the hiwassee dam.