The first European Conference Solar Energy in Architecture and Urban Planning, initiated by the European Commission, took place in Munich in 1987. At the five subsequent conferences – Paris, 1989; Florence, 1993; Berlin 1996; Bonn, 1998 and 2000 – the concepts and ideas of a direct use of solar energy in buildings and for urban development were constantly enhanced. In this context the European Charter "Solar Energy in Architecture and Urban Planning" was formulated at the conference in Berlin in 1996 under the auspices of Thomas Herzog. In 1998, EUROSOLAR organized the 5th conference “Building a new century” and in 2000 the 6th conference “The City – A Solar Power Station” with more than 700 participants which marked the departure towards a solar age of building.
In 2008, EUROSOLAR will continue this conference series in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs with the 7th conference entitled “Sun and Sense”. We want to demonstrate how the enormous technological progress in the fields of Renewable Energies can be implemented extensively into architecture and urban planning.
As in the preceding conferences, the prospect of a decentralized and emission-free energy use and the deliberate inclusion of the natural environment stand in the center of interest. It is the goal to shape living and urban development in accordance with the elementary needs of man with his various living and life styles, to increase the quality of life and to achieve the prospect of an emission-free energy supply.
The conference focuses on the following topics:
- The building as solar power station – Solar architecture / Architectural integration of Renewable Energy technology
- Urban development and settlement models
- Urban mobility with Renewable Energies
- City-region relations, embedding cities into the context of their local resources
- 100% Renewable Energy scenarios and projects on building, settlement, urban, and regional level
- The use of Renewable Energies in megacities of developing countries and newly industrialising countries