The Third Floor

From Bauhaus to Mecca

The exhibition From Bauhaus to Mecca introduces you to the fascinating architect Dr Mahmoud Bodo Rasch. Born into a German artistic family and having studied architecture, he seemed destined to follow the modernist ideas of post-war Europe. But he made a different choice: he converted to Islam and became one of the most important architects of the Islamic religious world.

The exhibition From Bauhaus to Mecca will be on display from 8 November 2025 to 5 April 2026.

From the exhibition
Video

From Bauhaus to Mecca: videos from the exhibition

(Re)watch the documentaries and videos from the exhibition From Bauhaus to Mecca here.

From the exhibition

Remixing Tradition

Although some traditions are recent inventions, many are so deeply ingrained that they form the backbone of entire societies.

From the exhibition

Reinventing Tradition

How do you modernise a religious tradition that is more than 1,400 years old? This was the question Dr Mahamoud Bodo Rasch faced in 1974.

From the exhibition

Rejecting Tradition

Tradition is a way of establishing a set of supposedly authentic customs, literally preserving them. Traditions have also emerged in architecture and design, ideas about the correct way to practise these applied arts. However, these traditions are also regularly broken.