Lamia Messari-Becker: The durability of our actions manifests itself not only in the use of resources

09. October 2021 – Oliver Stoldt

Lamia Messari-Becker has become a familiar face on the German media landscape since the flood disaster this summer 2021 at the latest. The 48-year-old young civil engineer teaches building technology and building physics at the University of Siegen and was a member of the German government’s Council of Experts on the Environment until 2020.

Lamia Messari-Becker: Member of the Club of Rome

Last year, she was accepted into the renowned Club of Rome, THE international think tank founded in 1968 with the aim of bringing together experts for a sustainable future for humanity. Today, 30 nationalities sit together, including Lamia Messari-Becker, whose expertise on the sustainable development of buildings and cities could not fit better into the select circle.

She recently commented in the German daily newspaper „Süddeutsche Zeitung“ on her proposal to the federal government to install a new Ministry of Construction. She states clearly: “The flood disaster makes it tragically clear to us: climate adaptation, resilient infrastructures, land and water management, prepared communities and residents – all of these can save lives and livelihoods. But we are missing almost all of the construction-related policy goals.” In the interview, she also says, “The planned and built environment is the habitat of 83 million people in this country. Nothing unites us more than the commonality of living, working and living spaces at the center of our everyday lives. Yet building, housing, urban and spatial development are still not seen as holistic fields of political design and action. Although the challenges are becoming ever greater: Energy efficiency, climate adaptation, climate protection, affordability, age equity, digitalization, mobility, changes in the world of work, the gap between urban and rural areas – to name the biggest issues. Not planning and managing this task centrally, not seeing these topics holistically but as partial aspects, is fatal. We are already seeing this: The omission is taking its revenge on many levels.”

For sustainable design of buildings and cities

Lamia Messari-Becker is generally committed to sustainable design of buildings and cities. She advocates a holistic view of sustainability in building and urban design and calls for greater integration of these areas into any sustainable development strategy.

Born in Morocco, she came to Germany in 1992, studied civil engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt, and earned her doctorate there. Her first job as a student intern was in the engineering office of current ESA director and TU professor Jan Wörner, who was also president of TU Darmstadt. Between 2009 and 2014, she worked in a management capacity for the Frankfurt-based engineering firm Bollinger + Grohmann, managing projects in numerous countries. In Momentum magazine, she once said, “My view of many challenges such as resource conservation, access to education, energy and water, and other sustainable development goals is shaped by my international professional experience and my Moroccan heritage.”

In her lectures in English, French and German, she talks about sustainable building and living, new work, education, urbanization and smart homes, as well as Change Management.

Lamia Messari-Becker

Expert Sustainability, Energy transition, Circular Economy & E-mobility