The exhibition presents a selection of images of mosques in different German cities, showing the interior architecture, impressions of Friday prayer times, portraits of Imams, the Muslim community and visitors. Photographer Wilfried Dechau took pictures in various mosques – from a converted garage and a factory hall to new mosques in Pforzheim, Penzberg, Mannheim, Wolfsburg, Aachen, Karlsruhe, Hamburg and Stuttgart.
Wilfried Dechau, photographer, lives and works in Stuttgart
1944 born in Lübeck
studied architecture at Braunschweig Technical University (BTU)
Academic assistant at BTU department of building construction
1980–1988 editor db deutsche bauzeitung
1988–2004 db chief editor 1983 guest editor of Architects’ Journal, London
2004 guest editor of Hochparterre, Zurich, Switzerland
1995–2001 lectured at Biberach University of Applied Sciences
Since 1999 member of the DGPh photographers’ association
1995 initiated the ‘architekturbild’ European award of architectural photography
2003 founded the architekturbild e.V.
Since 2004 academic advisory council member of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation
In addition to Dechau’s photographs, the exhibition shows models, pictures and plans of mosques – either projected or already built – by the architects Paul Böhm, Cologne; Alen Jasarevic, Augsburg and Koller Heitmann Schütz, Wolfsburg.
CENTRAL MOSQUE COLOGNE, construction 2008 – 2010
Paul Böhm Architects, Cologne
The Cologne Central Mosque ensemble is grouped around a courtyard open to the street. A wide stairway ramp connects the two main access levels. The ground floor accommodates the bazaar and the auditorium, whilst the upper level contains the prayer hall and ancillary spaces. The courtyard forms the concourse, meeting place and distribution area of the entire complex. From here visitors access the other functional areas, such as the library as well as a number of seminar rooms and offices. The design includes a fountain as the focal point of the courtyard, which will connect the two main levels in a generous and elegant way and whose water jets will create a pleasant atmosphere. The ground-floor auditorium directly underneath the prayer hall is accessed via a spacious street-level entrance area. The prayer hall dominates the appearance of the entire complex. It is enclosed by several curving wall slabs, which rise up to form a central dome.
ISLAMIC FORUM PENZBERG, 2007
Jasarevic Architects, Augsburg
A mosque in a small Bavarian town near the Alps: In a protracted process, the project was developed together with the Islamic community as the client, the municipality, citizens and a number of public authorities. The result is an unusual type of mosque, which despite its contemporary architectural language has met with wide public approval. It has become a tourist attraction visited by thousands.
ISSSAN CULTURAL CENTRE, BERLIN-CHARLOTTENBURG
Jasarevic Architects, Augsburg
Unfortunately, this project was not implemented, despite the fact that the planning process was already far advanced. The design ideas for the Penzberg mosque were developed further for this centre. Traditional elements such as the domed roof and the minaret were reinterpreted in abstract form. Despite its modern architecture and in spite of the fact that it was designed for a young and fully integrated Muslim community, the project was shelved due to the lack of political support. This shows the limited role architecture is allowed to play.
ISLAMIC COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL CENTRE WOLFSBURG, opened in June 2006
Koller Heitmann Schütz, Wolfsburg / Client: Islamic Association Wolfsburg
The Islamic centre by architects Koller, Heitmann and Schütz consists of a mosque with a mezzanine gallery on a square plan of approx. 16 x 16 m, and an adjoining two-storey cultural centre. It supplements an ensemble of public and public-welfare buildings in its context. After a ten-year search for the right spot, this location met with general acceptance and approval. As it is situated near the city, the centre is easily accessible and makes its presence felt in the city. It also relates to an almost park-like countryside, so its ambient atmosphere is the right one for a place of prayer and contemplation. The way the complex is sited also contributes to this: the public areas (salesroom, cafeteria) are oriented to the city, whilst the prayer hall with the mihrab (prayer niche) in the wall facing Mecca overlooks the park. The cube-shaped domed mosque building is higher than, and juts out in front of, the cultural centre, which steps back unobtrusively behind a number of trees. Both the architects and the client wanted to preserve the appearance of the site as being part of the surrounding parkland.
