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SL Rasch GmbH is a Stuttgart-based general contractor that focuses on specialised, innovative, lightweight structures. The company consists of a broad, interdisciplinary team of structural and mechanical engineers, architects, designers and computer specialists who work in a holistic manner to deliver projects to a wide range of clients around the world.
SL Rasch traces its origins to an architecture studio founded in Stuttgart in 1926 by Heinz and Bodo Rasch. The Rasch brothers were among the leading proponents of Neues Bauen (“New Building” style), the bold, visionary design approach to architecture closely associated with the Bauhaus school of Weimar Germany. Indeed, the Rasch brothers were friends and colleagues of many of the leading Bauhaus figures such as Otto Dix, Walter Gropius, Martin Wagner and Bruno Taut. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe even used the Rasch studio. Dr Mahmoud Bodo Rasch Junior, the son of Bodo Rasch Senior and Lilo Rasch-Naegele, founded the architectural practice Rasch & Associates in 1980 and SL Rasch’s predecessor, Sonderkonstruktionen und Leichtbau, in 1991 having studied under, and worked with, the architect Frei Otto at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Lightweight Structures.
“SL Rasch designed the various elements of the clock tower from the steel structure made of high-strength steel and concrete, glass-fibre-reinforced panels on the clock faces and carbon fibre components, inspired by boatbuilding technology. The resulting structure is one of the world’s most iconic, a symbol of Islam and engineering prowess”
Since its foundation four decades ago, SL Rasch has worked on some of the most famous and influential buildings in the world. One such project is the Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest. Given the truly awesome size of this structure, SL Rasch had to work with lightweight materials to ensure it was structurally sound. Topping out at more than 600 metres, the tower clock is subject to high desert winds, lightning strikes and the powerful Arabian sun. SL Rasch designed the various elements of the clock tower from the steel structure made of high-strength steel and concrete, glass-fibre-reinforced panels on the clock faces and carbon fibre components, inspired by boatbuilding technology. The resulting structure is one of the world’s most iconic, a symbol of Islam and engineering prowess.
SL Rasch received international acclaim for its Medina Haram Piazza Shading Umbrellas, finished in 2010, at the Prophet’s Mosque, which is one of the two holiest mosques in Islam. Hundreds of millions of Muslims make pilgrimage there each year. In the height of summer, temperatures in Medina can reach 43C, leading King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to order the construction of the umbrellas to protect pilgrims. The largest convertible shading roof on the planet was built by SL Rasch to fulfil this brief, consisting of 250 beautifully designed, funnel-shaped umbrellas covering an area of 150,000 square metres. Beyond Saudi Arabia, the company has also worked on projects in the UAE, Barbados, the US, Qatar, Egypt, Switzerland and, of course, its native Germany.
SL Rasch has won numerous awards for its work, including the Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture, the Deutscher Ingenieurbaupreis and the Award for Best Innovation from the International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction. Such recognition is demonstrative of the company’s tireless pursuit of the right solution for each individual brief, using cutting-edge, research-based methodologies and a commitment to providing improved comfort and quality of life using the least materials and energy possible.
