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Mahmoud Bodo Rasch
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Name
Mahmoud Rasch
Siblings
Aiga Rasch
Parents
Lilo Rasch-Naegele, Bodo Rasch
Retractable Umbrella @ Masjid Al Nabawi, Medina Hajj 2017
Mahmud Bodo Rasch’s father, Bodo Rasch (1903-1995), and uncle Heinz Rasch were figures within the international architectural avant-garde during the 1920s. His mother, Lilo Rasch-Naegele (1914-1978), was a painter and graphic designer, and his sister Aiga (1941-2009) was an illustrator and graphic designer. Following in his family’s artistic tradition, Mahmud Bodo Rasch in 1964 began studying for a degree in architecture at the University of Stuttgart, from which he was graduated in 1972. In 1967 and during the course of his studies, Mahmoud Bodo Rasch worked with Frei Otto at the Institut für leichte Flächentragwerke (Institute for Lightweight Structures) at the University of Stuttgart and, in 1969, at the Design and Development Bureau Atelier Frei Otto Warmbronn. Rasch led construction of the new institute building (the tensile structure had originally been developed for the German Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal) and assumed the role of project leader for the convertible umbrellas, which Frei Otto had designed and built for the 1971 Bundesgartenschau in Cologne. Several joint projects and a close friendship resulted from this partnership, and to this day Frei Otto remains an advisor to Mahmud Bodo Rasch’s team.
In 1973, Bodo Rasch was guest lecturer at the School of Architecture in the University of Texas at Austin, in the United States. In 1974 came the opportunity to take part in an urban development competition aimed at providing pilgrim accommodation for the Tent City in Tal Mina, Mecca. In the same year Bodo Rasch converted to Islam.
In 1975 Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and Sami Angawi founded the Hajj Research Center at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 1980 his dissertation about the Tent Cities of Hajj was published in a series titled “Information of the Institute for Lightweight Structures (IL) University of Stuttgart, IL 29 The Tent Cities of the Hajj”.
In 1980, Mahmoud Bodo Rasch founded the architecture firm Rasch and Associates and then, in 1991, the special and lightweight construction firm SL GmbH, which since 1998 has operated under the title of SL Rasch GmbH Special and Lightweight Structures. In 1998 Rasch’s long-standing chief architect Jürgen Bradatsch became a partner in the architecture firm Rasch and Bradatsch.
Together with his team, Mahmoud Bodo Rasch pursues Frei Otto’s principles of lightweight construction on the basis of scientific research. His newly established team for Islamic design brings the minimalistic forms of lightweight construction together in harmony with the ornamentation of sacred buildings.
Rasch’s many years of work in the Middle East and his realization of adaptable lightweight structures led to a series of large scale projects for the Holy Cities of Islam. In cooperation with many highly specialized businesses, Rasch and his team have developed a number of unusual projects such as the Makkah Clock Tower – the largest clock tower in the world. Other projects of this kind include the 250 convertible umbrellas that shade the piazza of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and protect pilgrims from sun and rain.
Projects (Selected)
1972-80 Research and teaching in Germany, Italy, USA and Saudi Arabia
1980 Dissertation “The Tent Cities of the Hajj”
1981 Mountain tents for Muna Valley, Saudi Arabia. With Sami Angawi and Frei Otto
1985 Scientific studies “Climatic research for convertible roofs in Saudi Arabia“
1986 Scientific studies “Simulation and analysis of crowd movement during pilgrimage in the Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia”
1987 Prototypes for 5x5m solar-powered umbrellas
1987 Toldo for the Quba Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
1988 Convertible roof for the open-air theater in Wiltz, Luxembourg
1990 Tent structures for “Thuwal Palace” beach residence on the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
1991 27 sliding domes for the courtyards of the Prophet´s Holy Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
1992 12 large convertible umbrellas (17x18m) in the two large courts of the Prophet´s Holy Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
1992 Integrated lighting system for the Piazza of the Prophet´s Holy Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
1994 Convertible umbrellas for the Castle of Wasseralfingen, Germany
1995 Domes for the Guekdepe Mosque, Turkmenistan,
1996 Venice Biennale, Starwave tent and 5x5m umbrellas, Venice, Italy
1996 “Jubilee ship”, pneumatic structure for the Academy of Arts, Berlin
1997 Tents for beach palace in Obhur, Saudi Arabia
1998 “Maqam Ibrahim“ shrine for the al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
1999 Convertible tent for the Robinson Club Fuerteventura, Spain
1999 Domes and lighting system for “Majid Wilayah Persekutuan”, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1999 Domes for Putra Mosque, Putrajaya, Malaysia
1999 Fireproof tents for the Muna Tent City, Saudi Arabia
2000 Round tents for a showroom in Leonberg, Germany
2000 Convertible umbrellas (16mx16m) in front of Al Hussein Mosque, Cairo, Egypt
2000 “Kaaba Stairs” movable stairs for the “Kaaba”, al-Haram Shareef Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
2000 Venezuela Pavilion Expo 2000, Hannover
2001 Tanzbrunnen Cologne, renovation of the tent membrane
2001 “Sail Island” sail structures on the Red Sea, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2002 Toldo, Villa d`Este, Rome, Italy
2002 Convertible umbrellas, Hotel d´Angleterre, Lausanne, Switzerland
2002 “Minbar”, movable minbar for al-Haram Shareef Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
2004 Convertible roof for castle ruins, Scherenburg, Germany
2004 Khourais Road Retail Center, roof tent structure Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2004 Umbrella for the “Stuttgarter Schlossplatz”, design with Frei Otto
2007 Tent structures and lighting system, Royal Terminal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
2007 Convertible umbrellas, Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados
2008 Convertible umbrellas (29x29m) Royal Terminal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2009-2012 Tower tents on the Abraj Al Bait Towers, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
2011 250 convertible umbrellas (26x26m) for the Prophet´s Holy Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia
2012 “ Royal Clock Tower”, clock and tower-top of the Abraj Al Bait Towers, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Awards
1981 Freunde der Universität Stuttgart (Friends of the University of Stuttgart)
1992 Deutscher Werkbund Bayern (German Work Federation Bavaria)
1993 Best Innovation, “International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction”, Houston, Texas
1993 “Imam Bukhari Educational Complex”, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 1st prize in international competition
Exhibitions
1992 „Gestalt finden“ auf dem Weg zu einer Baukunst des Minimalen. Der Werkbund zeigt Frei Otto, Frei Otto zeigt Bodo Rasch, Villa Stuck, München
1995 „Umbrellas“ Exhibition in Parsons School of Design, New York, USA
1996 „Umbrellas“ Ehibition, Sony Gallery, Cairo
1996 „Gestalt finden“ auf dem Weg zu einer Baukunst des Minimalen, University of Weimar
Publications
IL 29 „ Tent Cities of the Hajj“, disssertation of Dr. Bodo Rasch
Frei Otto, Bodo Rasch: Gestalt finden - Auf dem Weg zu einer Baukunst des Minimalen, Edition Axel Menges, 1995
Frei Otto, Bodo Rasch: Finding Form - Towards an Architecture of the Minimal, Edition Axel Menges, 1995
Articles and Interviews
„Starwave-Zelt und Fünf-Meter-Schirm auf der Biennale in Venedig“, „Jubiläumsschiff“ in Berlin In: Detail: temporäre Bauten, 8/1996
„Convertible Architecture“ in L`Arca Larivista internazionale di architettura, design e comunicazione visiva 73/ 1993
Wolkenkratzerprojekt in Mekka: Jetzt schlägt's gigantisch - SPIEGEL online
In Focus: Bodo Rasch - Allah's Architect
Deutsche Ingenieure in Medina: Schattenspender aus dem Ländle
Films
The Pedestrian Movement of Al Hajj, 1978, Film by Viscom and Hajj Research Center
Bodo Rasch – Architektur für Allah, Dokumentarfilm, 2004, SÜDWEST Fernsehen: 29. Januar 2004, 22.30 Uhr