The High School Gymnasium

Before destruction
Dates of construction: 1902. god.

Period and style: Austro-Hungarian/ Orientalist

Formal characteristic:  The Gymnasium was constructed by architect Franc Blazek in Bosnia's Orientalist style, sometimes called the "Pseudo-Moorish Style." It was an architectural language conceived specifically for Bosnia, a style that could represent the ethnic diversity of an empire as a way of exhibiting its breadth and reach. As an architectural style, it had little to do with actual Bosnian architectural history. Rather, it developed an ornamentation strategy drawn from a number of divergent Islamic sources: horseshoe arches and keel-shaped arches from Spain and North Africa; cut-out lancet windows and planar reveals defined by muqarnas courses from Mamluk architecture in Egypt; calligraphic mouldings and fantastic crenellations. The effect was a reductive "Islamic Architecture" of European fantasy. It was also a style that could be applied to the kind of massive building block that function and technology required in this period.

This Orientalist style was employed by Austro-Hungarian developers and Bosnians. In Mostar, it might have been a way of defining a Muslim or multicultural identity for Bosnians that was not rooted to the past: it could have suggested a Bosnian identity linked to the technological and economic developments of the turn of the century, developments with which all ethnic groups in Mostar wished to identify themselves with.

Ownership history: State property, Municipality of Mostar until 1992.

Site history: The Gymnasium was constructed in two phases; the central bay and north wing were completed in 1898, and the south wing was undertaken in a separate campaign completed in 1902.

All classrooms, located at the wings, are oriented to the streets; corridors and sanitary blocks face the courtyard. The entrance hall dominates the central part of the building on the first floor, while the second floor houses rooms for administration and teaching staff, and the third floor features a lecture hall. On the courtyard side of the central bay, the most prominent feature is a graceful staircase constructed of stone and iron beams. The basement was used for student activities to the south, and for building services to the west. On the first floor, the last two classrooms were transformed into a gym. Before the 1992 war, the Gymnasium, as a prized urban site, was in very good condition.

After destruction
Assumptions for reuse: For almost a century, the Gymnasium stood at the crossroads of east and west Mostar as the most distinguished and recognizable landmark outside of the old town. It has been a building that marks the diversity that fed Mostar's lively architectural fruition during the Austro-Hungarian period. Therefore, restoration of the Gymnasium as a high school in continuation with its former function is essential. Such a restoration would preserve the emblematic fasades and ornamentation of the Gymnasium, and retain much of the disposition of original interior spaces.

Proposed intervention: The damaged floors and the roof need to be reconstructed according to previous survey documentation. The walls are made of brick and plastered over in imitation of dressed stone. The stylistic features of the historicist period need to be repaired carefully, preserving the characteristics of the design. The sophisticated decorative elements, which give the building its imposing monumentality, need to be restored very meticulously.

Damaged or lost elements and features like the monumental staircase and vaults must be reconstructed according to data obtained from surviving pieces and from historic documents. Windows and doors must be renewed, using original materials and details. The original colour scheme of the exterior has to be preserved.

Cost estimate: 3 139 000 USD