Moritz Gerstel - Bauhaus genius from Ukraine

Russia's war of aggression has so far destroyed approximately 300,000 residential buildings in Ukraine . This figure was announced in July at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. Today, even as the fighting continues, differing opinions can be heard among Ukrainians regarding future reconstruction. Should everything be rebuilt as before or built from scratch? Europe has faced this question several times in its history. In this context, Moritz Gerstel's architectural solutions are interesting today in many ways.

Destruction and construction

Gerstel was born in 1886. Lviv is often given as his birthplace, but strictly speaking, it is the small town of Novy Jarychiv, 20 kilometers away, in western Ukraine, which was then part of Austria-Hungary.

110 years ago, Gerstel's hometown suffered significant destruction during a ten-month Russian occupation in World War I. At the same time, Gerstel studied at the Polytechnic Institute in Lviv, was drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, then fought against the Russian Empire and was wounded in the war.

The reconstruction of Novy Yarychiv proved difficult; people had to live in unheated basements, diseases spread, and there was no social housing. All of this, researchers believe, ultimately led Moritz Gerstel to want to create and build something new.

Housing for people

Gerstel graduated from the Vienna University of Technology and took on an urgent task in the city: helping to design social housing for war veterans in the Floridsdorf district, as well as in the cities of St. Pölten and Amstetten. He was convinced that housing should solve social problems, not create new ones, as a quote from a German essay of his suggests: "Every person who does not live with family, young or old, should have an independent and permanent dwelling, a home where they feel undisturbed and comfortable, where they can comfortably relax and recuperate, so that they are able to lead a normal, useful life."

The young architect was fascinated by the philosophy of New Building and the Bauhaus school , which was becoming increasingly popular in Germany and Austria in the 1920s. However, as early as the 1930s, with the Nazis ' rise to power, the Bauhaus and its philosophy and design were declared "degenerate." The school was dissolved in 1933.

Gerstel, who was working in Bucharest, Romania at the time, realized he could no longer create anything in Europe. He decided, like dozens of other architects, to emigrate to a place where modern ideas were in high demand at the time: Haifa, a city on the eastern Mediterranean in what was then British territory.

Market hall as a space of light

When he emigrated, Gerstel was almost 50 years old. His greatest success came in 1937: Out of hundreds of applicants, he won the competition for the construction of Haifa's municipal market hall with his Talpiot project. Today, the building is considered one of the world's most ingenious examples of the International Style of Architecture. German architect and photographer Stephanie Kloss describes the structure's form as "like a ship, the building appears to be sailing into an unknown harbor."

The market hall's attic housed a restaurant, and the interior, with its sophisticated natural ventilation and lighting, was a marvel of engineering—fully electrified, with a telephone, freezers, and freight elevators, a rarity at the time.

The market hall, an echo of Gerstel's war trauma and the Russian occupation, has arguably become his most important life's work. "This low-lying place has its own sacredness; there is life there. The most important thing is to invest in the simple 'little person,' because that's exactly what a modern architect does. A refuge for everyone. That was his dream," notes Karnit Mandel, documentary filmmaker and researcher of Gerstel's legacy.

She believes that Gerstel achieved his goal: to create and build primarily for ordinary people. And he did so even better than before, despite the widespread shortages of building materials during World War II . It was a symbolic victory for the values of the Bauhaus in a broader sense against Nazi totalitarianism in Europe, and also a personal victory for the architect.

Gerstel created several iconic buildings, including the Talpiot Hotel next to the Haifa Market Hall. The architect experimented with local stone and materials, combining European and Oriental motifs with Art Deco. However, Gerstel's streak of success was short-lived, ending with the British Mandate in 1948. Many of his friends and clients from the Arab and British elites left Haifa. Gerstel became isolated and died in 1961.

His work was continued by his son Leopold Gerstel, who later became one of Austria's most influential architects and whose 100th birthday (he died in 2010) is being celebrated there this year.

Faded legacy and forgotten name

Although Moritz Gerstel is referred to in textbooks as a "Ukrainian and Israeli architect," his name is almost forgotten today in the artist's homeland and even in the places where he shaped architecture. Even the futuristic Talpiot Market Hall has fallen into disrepair over time and has long awaited restoration.

Even in Germany itself, the birthplace of the Bauhaus, unique examples of this heritage have been irretrievably lost. For example, several buildings in Stuttgart's famous Weissenhof Estate , which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016, were destroyed during World War II. Two more buildings were demolished after the war in the 1950s.

In both Germany and Austria, interest in the Bauhaus style among young architects and artists has grown in recent years. What excites them about it? According to Stephanie Kloss, it's not just the unique aesthetic of modernism in the first half of the 20th century. To understand the difference, one should simply look at "today's architecture," says the artist.

But beyond the aesthetics of architecture, it's also about values and building for the future. By exploring this heritage, young architects can better understand what inspired, for example, Joachim Schürmann, the designer of the Deutsche Welle building in Bonn, or Hans Scharoun, who was tasked with rebuilding German cities after World War II.

Stephanie Kloss believes that the growing interest in the Bauhaus is also connected to the school's vision. "It tried to do something new, something social," she emphasizes, adding that this was combined with the beauty of form. "That's not the case anymore," notes Kloss, who has already had exhibitions of her photographs in Düsseldorf and Mainz.

Karnit Mandel became interested in Moritz Gerstel after living in one of the houses he designed near the Talpiot Market Hall. Since then, she has visited many archives in Vienna and Bucharest and plans to explore Ukrainian archives as well. Mandel is trying to discover which projects Gerstel was involved in in various countries. So far, she has found them in Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, and Bucharest, as her blog reveals. Mandel has set out to revive the memory of Moritz Gerstel. Next year will mark his 140th birthday.

Gerstel offered ordinary people universal, affordable, and aesthetic solutions that, according to architects, are still easily adaptable today. His life was shaped by two world wars and unrest; he experienced personal crises and, at times, was homeless. "However, he never gave up. Giving up was not an option for him. He wanted to create and build," says Karnit Mandel, emphasizing that such a motto is also highly relevant for our time.

Adapted from Ukrainian: Markian Ostapchuk