Die Architekten Brüder Heinz und Bodo Rasch: ein Beitrag zur Architekturgeschichte der zwanziger Jahre [The Architect Brothers Heinz and Bodo Rasch: A Contribution to the Architectural History of the Twenties]

‘It's high time that architects who claim descent from Michelangelo disappeared. Being an architect does not mean being a creator’.1 This was one of the standpoints taken by Heinz and Bodo Rasch, one that locates them in the earliest functionalist and constructivist tradition. They belonged to the so-called second generation of modern architects and designers in Germany. Only recently have they been rediscovered, along with other members of that generation.

Heinz was the only one of the two Rasch brothers that I knew personally: an elderly gentleman, of short stature and immaculately dressed, complete with bow tie, who lived alone in his house in Wuppertal–Elberfeld (Germany). He was always considerate and courteous in an old-fashioned way. Once I arrived late for a rendezvous. It was my own fault. I had set off from Holland much too late but I was unconcerned. I assumed that the old fellow must have time on his hands. When I arrived at last in Wuppertal, Heinz Rasch, clad as ever in a suit, opened the door to welcome me. He had a book in his hand and he read me a poem aloud. The poem, by Goethe, was about a host awaiting his guests, who never arrive. Apart from that, he spoke not one word about my lateness. Rarely had I felt as contrite as then.