• Robinson Sam: Saudi Arabia is proving its strong commitment to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by taking actions and innovative approaches thanks to its extensive green initiative.
  • Feras Farah: Building and construction sector accounts for 39% of energy related CO2 emissions – In addition to reducing embodied carbon, modern facade technology with high performances reduces operational carbon emissions.

Riyadh - Today, concluded the activities of the 6th edition of “World of Technal: Seminar on Sustainability and Building envelopes", which was held in Riyadh as a statement signifying the contribution of the French brand "Technal®️", part of the Norwegian Hydro Group; to the Saudi Green Initative. Technal®️ is a pioneer provider of aluminum systems for doors, windows, and facades in the KSA market with several exceptional and unique products and partnerships.

Robinson Sam, managing director at Hydro Building Systems for the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, said that "Technal®️" announced the launch of its latest products “Hydro CIRCAL”, in KSA today, the world’s first near-zero Carbon aluminum made with 100 % post-consumer aluminum scrap for doors windows and facades. Sam added that “Hydro CIRCAL” production with the use of post-consumer scrap significantly reduces the CO2 footprint compared to pre-consumer/process scrap as well as normal bauxite extraction and refinement, with no additional cost.

Sam praised the Saudi Arabian building development and construction progress, which shows that Saudi Arabia is proving its strong commitment to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by taking actions and innovative approaches towards its green initiative and the same can be seen on iconic project announcements such as the LINE project in NEOM and many such more,  “This encouraged "Technal®️" to launch its sixth conference to focus on sustainability and building envelopes to be part of the KSA interest in this vital issue and its Vision 2030” said Robinson Sam.

For his part, Feras Farah, Sales Director for Middle East, said the building and construction sector accounts for 39% of energy related CO2 emissions – In addition to reducing embodied carbon, modern aluminium facade technology with high performances reduces greatly the operational carbon emissions.  The advanced technology provided by "Technal®️" offers many innovative and dynamic solutions to the KSA market. Feras added that the most efficient way to reduce operational emissions is to offer performance products in order to optimize the energy consumption once the building is used, the modern and efficient design of building envelopes using the correct elements contributes to reducing energy bills by rates of up to 40-50%, the less energy is consumed, the less energy is produced, the less emissions are generated. In addition "Technal®️” solutions has other advantages of sound and dust proofing, distribution of natural lighting, aesthetic and functional elements, and many more.

Feras Farah expressed the confidence of the French brand "Technal®️" in the KSA economy, saying that the multinational company Hydro is moving in with investments and partnerships in the coming period to keep pace with the steady growth in the KSA construction and development movement, especially in the upcoming giga projects in the Kingdom.

The event witnessed a very informative panel discussion on the Sustainability Trends in KSA and reflected on the powerful sustainable actions the industry is gearing up to take on the huge construction boom in the kingdom. The esteemed panel included Mr Waleed Al Ghamdi, Director of Sustainability from ROSHN Real Estate, Mr Mohammed Al Masmoum, from The Red Sea Development Company, Dr Ali Shash, from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and Ms Babette Cilliers, from Alec Energy.

Several international engineering and architectural offices participated in the conference, including Zaha Hadid architects from London, Werner Sobek, Priedemann from Germany and many more of the Saudi Arabian Construction Fraternity.

The 6th World Of Technal was supported by leading construction giants Alec Energy, LINQ Modular Construction, Advanced Engineering Solutions from UAE, fire and acoustic specialists Siderise UK, leading glass manufacturer AGC-Obeikan KSA and interlayer lamination solution specialists Kuraray Germany.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Riyadh, The American Institute of Architects Middle East, ArchiNet architect association in Saudi Arabia and QMEA participated in the attendance and support, in addition to a large number of the Saudi Arabia regional and international companies working in the field of architecture, construction and reconstruction, sustainability experts, engineers, university professors and government officials.

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