On Saturday 8 November at 3PM, we will celebrate the opening of the exhibition From Bauhaus to Mecca. You are cordially invited!
From Bauhaus to Mecca
The exhibition focuses on the life’s work of Dr Mahmoud Bodo Rasch (1943). His father and uncle were Bauhaus architects (Bodo Sr, 1903-1995 and Heinz Rasch, 1902-1996) and his mother was a celebrated painter and illustrator (Lili Rasch-Naegele, 1914-1978). Rasch studied architecture and went on to work with the renowned architect of lightweight structures, Frei Otto (1925–2015). Otto and Rasch experimented with making models and drew inspiration for architectural forms from patterns found in nature.
In 1974, Rasch became involved in an urban planning competition for an enormous tent city in Mina, Saudi Arabia. He converted to Islam and, together with his friend Sami Angawi, established The Hajj Research Centre (HRC). Through this, he examined the annual hajj in Mecca through the lens of urban design, attempting to apply his ideas about Leichtbau, acquired from Otto, to this context. Rasch gained considerable recognition for his enormous self-deploying parasols in the city of Medina, which protect pilgrims from the scorching sun. What makes Rasch’s work distinctive is that he designs functionally for a spiritual practice. He was one of the first to map the hajj as a design challenge. This way of looking at the hajj reveals to visitors all manner of earthly considerations and decisions behind a celestial project.
Remarkably, Rasch is not well known in Europe. Design Museum Den Bosch aims to change this, as his work offers an excellent opportunity to examine the contemporary world of design, architecture and belief systems. In the exhibition, you’ll discover how one of the world’s largest social phenomena—the hajj—is profoundly connected to design, and how Rasch unites multiple worlds: Bauhaus, Leichtbau and Islamic design.
Programme
Will we see you there?
You are welcome to attend the opening of From Bauhaus to Mecca. We do ask you to register using this form. By registering, you agree to be photographed.
Thanks to
From Bauhaus to Mecca is made possible with the financial support of the municipality of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the province of North Brabant, the Mondriaanfonds, the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, the Turing Foundation, the Iona Stichting, the Van Eesteren-Fluck & Van Lohuizen Stichting, the Friends, Members and Patrons of the museum and Club Design.