Architecture in the service of universalism and localism
Karol Schayer's work in Lebanon is not just a case of 'exporting' Polish modernism, but a fascinating example of transnational architecture - flexibly positioned between learned canons and the experience of immigration, the need to adapt and dialogue with a new place.

While in Poland the modernist revolution of the twentieth-century period was brutally halted by war, political change and the imposition of socialist realism, Schayer had the opportunity to transplant his craft to Lebanese soil, in a completely different social, climatic and cultural context. Lebanon - a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, open to influences from East and West - provided him with a testing ground for modern ideas to develop in natural continuity.

Modernism without compromise - a universality characterised by flexibility
Schayer's modernism in Lebanon is not a mechanical replication of Polish patterns. It is a creative reinterpretation: when designing office buildings, villas, flat blocks or hotels such as the Dar Al Sayad, the Carlton Hotel, the Saroulla Center, the architect not only adapted the buildings to the conditions of the Mediterranean climate by implementing loggias, deep arcades, louvres, openwork walls, but also took into account the dynamics of Beirut's urban life, social structure and the aesthetic needs of the new elite and middle class.

A key feature of this modernism is its non-ideological nature. Unlike socialist realism - Schayer's modernism in Beirut did not impose a single model of the 'good life', but created multifunctional, democratic spaces that were open to individualisation, while at the same time trying to adapt them to the needs of local users.

Schayer had an excellent understanding of the importance of context - both cultural and geographically based. His Beirut projects do not so much seek to dominate, but rather strive to fit into the space, using local materials (travertine, marble, stone) and consciously creating relationships of light and shadow. Deep loggias or terraces are not only a compositional element, but a response to the realities of the climate - they combine a protective and aesthetic function. Particularly in the Schayer residences, one can see the influence of the Mediterranean villa, but transformed by the experience of the Bauhaus and Polish functionalism, as in the Al Bustany villa, with its asymmetrical body adapted to the slope of the hill, with panoramic glazing and stone cladding, where it combines modernity with the genius loci of the region. It is not only a 'house to live in', but also a 'house to look at' - at the sea, at Beirut, at the surrounding nature.

Schayer to the social diversity of Beirut to the St. Georges Hotel, opened in 1934, whose creator was Auguste Perret - a symbol of modernist luxury, monumentality and the large-scale use of reinforced concrete. Like Perret, Schayer not only used concrete as an architectural medium, combining its technical functionality with elegance and monumentalism, but designed buildings with clear, rhythmic facades, making use of shadow, light and deep loggias, and brought elements of local tradition into modernity - Perret operated with detailing reminiscent of the Parisian classics, Schayer drew on Mediterranean and Arabic detailing (e.g. the mastrabije). Oscar Niemeyer, creator of the incompletely realised fair complex in Tripoli, Lebanon, also went down as one of the most daring experimenters of modernism in the region. His pavilions are characterised by a lightness of structure, the use of powerful arches, planes and the play of light - and although Niemeyer worked mainly on a larger scale and more sculptural, he shares with Schayer a similar desire to integrate the building into its surroundings. Gio Ponti was not only an icon of Italian Modernism, but also the designer of buildings in the Middle East such as the Pirelli skyscraper and, in Tehran, the Foreign Ministry building (1958-62). Ponti used modernist formal means, sought clarity and lightness in construction, and was keen to use rhythms of repetitive façade elements. Ponti also - especially in projects in the East - adopted traditional local motifs (e.g. ceramic cladding, loggias, clearances) to make modernism more 'homely' and user-friendly.

Schayer entered Beirut's landscape at the same time as young Lebanese architects were beginning to shape the country's identity. He was the architect of the Harissa Basilica (Pierre el Khoury - author of the Harissa Basilica, where the modern form was integrated into the landscape and used innovative spatial solutions such as a roof inspired by Bedouin tents), Azmi Fakhuri - author of the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque with its references to Ottoman classics, or Vladimir Djurovic. Compared to them, Schayer was more consistent in his use of the language of modernism, less 'retrospective' - he did not seek historical quotations but modern means of dialogue with place.

Lebanon is a mosaic of religions and cultures - Maronite, Sunni, Shiite, Armenian, Druze, Christian, Muslim; a country divided and merging anew, which is also evident in the cityscape. While many representative religious and public buildings are manifestations of the identity of individual communities, e.g. the basilica in Harissa, the Mohammad Al-Amin mosque, the Museum of Resistance in Mleeta, Schayer's architecture defies simple categorisation.

Schreyer drew on the experience of the best to His designs are 'universal', creating a modern urban space accessible to all - regardless of religious or ethnic affiliation. This is a conscious choice of the language of modernism as a platform for understanding rather than domination. Schayer co-created the myth of modern Beirut as a 'world city', not just the capital of the Middle East.

A new urban paradigm
Schayer's influence can also be seen in urban planning solutions. His buildings, especially in the Hamra and Achrafieh neighbourhoods, are becoming a link between the historical fabric and modernity. Today, Schayer's masterpieces, the spectacular realisations of Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl or Bernard Khoury come together in these neighbourhoods - and despite the great diversity of styles, one can see a genetic affinity in thinking about openness of space, functionality and respect for the user.

Schayer not only foresaw but also initiated the process of 'hybridisation' of architecture - blurring the boundaries between East and West, tradition and modernity, form and function. As a result, Beirut became a laboratory of modern ideas, and Schayer the co-creator of this phenomenon.

Although many of Schayer's works have been destroyed (e.g. the Carlton Hotel) or extensively rebuilt (Dar Al Sayad), his influence on Beirut's urban DNA is undeniable. When assessing today's cityscape, it is hard not to see Schayer's work as having an 'exemplary' function: providing a basis for critical reflection on modernity, localism and the social responsibility of architecture.

A new look - the legacy of Karl Schayer in the 21st century
Looking at Lebanon today - a country that is dynamically developing but beset by crises, full of tensions and hopes - Schayer's work appears as a proposal for architecture that defies simplification. His modernism is not only an aesthetic of simplicity, but also a philosophy of dialogue, innovation and rootedness in place.

Schayer is important not only as a "Polish architect in Beirut", but as an artist who has shown through his work that it is possible to build bridges between worlds - and that architecture, even the most modern, is always a response to a particular person and his world.

Schayer teaches that border-crossing architecture is not the sum of compromises, but a field of innovation, adaptation and the constant rediscovery of the relationship between man, place and time. In this sense, Schayer's work in Lebanon deserves a renewed reception - not only as an example of the 'Polish footprint' abroad, but as an inspiration for building a modernity with a human face, across divisions, in dialogue with history, nature and the future of the city.

Public, commercial and office buildings
Dar Al Sayad (1954, Beirut, Hazmieh)
The Assayad Publishing House office building, a monumental edifice with distinctive louvres and stone cladding, one of the icons of Lebanese modernism.

Carlton Hotel (1955-1957, Beirut, Raouché)
Luxury waterfront hotel with deep loggias, innovative façade designs; demolished in 2008.

Saroulla Center (1961, Beirut, Hamra Street)
Multipurpose commercial and office complex, one of the commercial highlights of post-war Beirut.

Shell Building (1959, Beirut)
Modern office building (Shell), distinctive façade and expressive design.

Horseshoe Building (1957, Beirut, Hamra Street)
One of Beirut's first buildings with a full glass facade; on the ground floor, the famous Horseshoe Café - the centre of the city's intellectual life.

Cinema Edison (c. 1957, Beirut)
A cinema with a modernist, lightweight design (collaboration: Wassek Adib, B. Makdisi).

Spinneys Supermarket (Beirut)
A modern supermarket, one of the first of its kind in the region, an essential part of daily life in Beirut.

Banque Libano-Française (Beirut)
A bank building with a monumental, elegant façade

Gulf Insurance Building (Beirut)
Office building realised in the spirit of international modernism

AUB Alumni Clubhouse (1952, Beirut)
Alumni Clubhouse of the American University of Beirut, an example of modernist social architecture.

Residential buildings, residences and villas
Villa Al Bustany (1952, Baabda, Lebanon)
Private residence, designed to adapt to the slope of the site, panoramic glazing, travertine cladding.

Hamra Apartment Building (Beirut, Hamra)
Modernist residential building with openwork reinforced concrete pergola and loggias.

Private residences in the Achrafieh and Ras Beirut districts
A series of villas and apartment buildings designed in the 1950s and 1960s, characterised by adaptation to the local climate and individual functional solutions.

Dar Al-Handasah Building (Beirut)
The headquarters of a well-known engineering company.

Shop and furniture interiors (Beirut, c. 1947-1949)
Early commercial interior designs (collaboration with Fritz Gotthelf).

Competition and conceptual designs
Collaboration and consultation on projects in Syria and Egypt
Documented architectural consultations, competition projects, no major projects identified as fully realised.