Kingdom could become a world leader of solar energy, says German architect

German architect Thomas Lücking, the keynote speaker at the Exhibition on German Contemporary Architecture in Arabia in the University’s King Fahd research center on Tuesday, said the Kingdom could become a world leader of solar energy if they efficiently used their energy.
“Saudi Arabia is a very special case because it is rich in the solar energy. It is tempting to use sun energy for construction, for heating and also for cooling systems. Currently Saudi Arabia is using oil as a source of energy, which creates greenhouse gases and trigger greenhouse effects,” he said.
“The less oil they burn, the more they can sell to the rest of the world. With that income Saudi can become the master in terms of solar energy. They can invest in solar energy. A 5th of the Saudi land area is enough to produce energy for the entire world,” he added.
He was speaking at the exhibition organized by the German Consulate in cooperation with King Abdul Aziz University. The two-day exhibition was a unique documentation of contemporary German architecture in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. It showcased the cross-cultural exchange of knowledge between contemporary Schools of German architecture and the unique environment of the Arabian Peninsula. It covered various fields, such as energy efficient buildings, landscape architecture, lightweight structures and the green building concept.
Lücking, who works in the Kingdom as a general manager for Gerber Architekten, gave a lecture on sustainable architecture and its importance in the field of architecture.
He advised Saudi authorities to fill the desert with solar panels and become the master of the solar energy. He also advised Saudi people and engineers to design houses with a high level of comfort but save energy for the future generations.
“One of the great resources that are consumed is energy. Buildings and cities consume 70 percent of that energy. With energy efficiently designed houses we can have a big leverage on the amount energy we use,” he said.
Zoheir Damanhouri, vice president for development and Christian Strob, Cultural Attaché, at German Consulate General Jeddah on behalf of Dr. Rolf Theodor Schuster German Consul General, inaugurated the exhibition.
Damanhouri hoped that the exhibition would benefit the staff and students of the university. He also thanked the German consulate for organizing the exhibition at the premises. Christian Strob said that the goal of the exhibition was to offer the Saudi architecture students’ a source of inspiration, for the development of their own country in their particular style of architecture and to bring the two countries closer together not only on a cultural level but also on an engineering and architectural level.
“The exhibition may not only serve the purpose of an introduction, but there are plenty of options available to deepen your knowledge of German Architecture by studying in Germany,” he said.