News

Yesterday, July 25th, the inauguration of the new Lisbon Design Museum (MUDE) took place, after the completion of the requalification project led by Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, starting in 2021.

In a contribution made to the book “MUDE Building – Transformations from the perspective of design” which was distributed on the occasion of the inauguration, colleague Tiago Simões Vieira, Construction Director of this project, highlighted that “the requalification of the MUDE building — Design Museum revealed It will be a great challenge and, above all, a huge privilege for everyone who collaborated in carrying out the work.».

MUDE was created in 2009, occupying a historic building in Baixa Pombalina, formerly the headquarters of Banco Nacional Ultramarino, which was in poor condition for the functional and security needs of a museum center with the ambition of being a cultural reference in Lisbon. Even so, the Museum received an average of 2,000 visitors per day and hosted more than 70 exhibitions and 300 events.

In 2015, Lisbon City Council closed the doors of MUDE to begin a comprehensive requalification project that was the subject of an international competition and was awarded to a company that went into insolvency in 2018. A new tender was opened for a 2nd contract, Teixeira Duarte was the selected company and the renovation works resumed in 2021, never stopping even during the pandemic.

According to an interview given to Observador by the Director of MUDE, Bárbara Coutinho, «having Teixeira Duarte, a century-old company, as a partner was a fundamental element (…) If we make the simple ratio between what the project cost, the architectural work and the specialties across the total area, we are talking about something that is absolutely significant in terms of the extreme savings we made here.” Statements that attest to customer satisfaction in relation to Teixeira Duarte’s efficiency and its ability to overcome the challenges inherent in the execution of a unique work of «singular construction, different from all others, with non-obvious constructive solutions, where there was an appeal constant contribution to the creativity of the various participants.», mentions Tiago Simões Vieira in the aforementioned Book. The excerpt from the Book corresponding to the chapter “The challenges of the work, from the perspective of Teixeira Duarte” can be read in full here.

MUDE opened with an exhibition dedicated to the building itself, where the transformation of the space is explained, what needed to be rethought and preserved, through texts, photos and videos, and which can be seen until October 31st.

Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções participated, on the 27th and 28th of June, in the 33rd Plenary Meeting of CEN/TC288 “Execution of Special Geotechnical Works”, which took place at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC), in Lisbon.

CEN/TC288 is the Technical Committee responsible for developing European Standards for the Execution of Special Geotechnical Structures.

The 33rd plenary meeting took place in a hybrid format and had a broad international representation, comprising 28 members of delegations from Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Latvia, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. The Portuguese delegation, representing the Portuguese Quality Institute (IPQ), the entity responsible for preparing and disseminating standards in Portugal, was led by Eng. João Pina, from the Projects Department of Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções.

For Teixeira Duarte, contributing to the standardization of the AEC sector constitutes a means of competitive differentiation, contributing to the development of its activity in line with the rules of art and national and international standards, which is why the Company actively participates in groups work in the most diverse areas of Engineering.

Bearing in mind the news recently published by some media outlets, TEIXEIRA DUARTE – ENGENHARIA E CONSTRUÇÕES, S.A., as leader of the Group competing in the «International Public Tender IP3 Coimbra / Viseu – Section Santa Comba Dão / Viseu – Duplication / Requalification» , clarifies that, contrary to the content of the aforementioned publications, the Group in question timely delivered all the qualification documents required in the procedures leading to the formalization of the contract.

The decision to forfeit the award was due to an alleged impediment of EMBEIRAL– ENGENHARIA E CONSTRUAÇÃO, S.A., a company that is part of the Group, in being able to participate in the procedure.

Teixeira Duarte, in partnership with Greenvolt, inaugurated yesterday, June 27th, at its Montijo Operational Pole, a new solar energy Self-Consumption Production Unit (UPAC). Opened in 2011, the Montijo Operational Center is located in an area of ​​more than 130,000 m², being an essential infrastructure for the development of the Teixeira Duarte Group’s activity, particularly in the Construction sector, in Portugal and abroad.

The UPAC is located on the roofs of the buildings, with a total area of ​​5,500m2, and with 2,155 photovoltaic solar modules, having an installed capacity of 1,174 kWp and generating 1,716 MWh of solar energy per year. This means the emission of 823 fewer tons of CO2 per year.

The new UPAC is the result of a partnership established with Greenvolt, which allows, through sharing the added value obtained with the energy generated there, for Teixeira Duarte to benefit from the advantages of solar energy in this establishment without the need for investment, thus leveraging decarbonization of this operation, from the Municipality of Montijo itself and contributing to the objectives of the National Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030.

Within the Teixeira Duarte Group, the UPAC installation project was managed and monitored by TDGI, a Group company dedicated to the management and maintenance of buildings with experience in energy solutions, including photovoltaic energy and electric mobility projects.

The inauguration event, which brought together the teams involved in the project, both from Teixeira Duarte/TDGI and Greenvolt, was attended by Dr. Ricardo Bernardes representing the Montijo City Council, Dr. Manuel Maria Teixeira Duarte, President of the Board of Directors of Teixeira Duarte, members of the Boards of Directors of several companies in the Group, and representatives of Greenvolt, with emphasis on Dr. João Manso Neto, CEO of Greenvolt, and Eng. Pedro Ramalhosa, Managing Partner of Greenvolt Next Portugal.

Dr. Manuel Maria Teixeira Duarte took advantage of his opening speech at the ceremony to convey to all the people involved in the different phases of the project, a «heartfelt gratitude for the commitment to “making it happen” in favor of preserving our planet, an objective shared by all of us in the Teixeira Duarte Group and integrated into our own mission, which is “To do, contributing to the construction of a better world”.»

The Order of Engineers of the Madeira Region held, on the 22nd of June, at the Madeira Press Museum, in Câmara de Lobos, the Civil Engineering Days of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, which had as their theme “Civil Engineering and challenges for sustainability.” Teixeira Duarte – Madeira, S.A., a recently created company 100% owned by Teixeira Duarte – Engenharia e Construções, S.A. (TD-EC), participated as a sponsor and speaker at the event.

In a program that covered several themes, Teixeira Duarte contributed in particular to the theme Innovation/New Technologies/Sustainability, with a presentation on “Practical application of new technologies and sustainability” carried out by her colleague and responsible for the Project Management at TD-EC, Laura Esteves.

Participation in these Conferences was an opportunity to share experiences, analyze trends and reflect on the challenges for Civil Engineering, with emphasis on the context of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, where Teixeira Duarte already has a long history of works carried out and intends to continue invest in a position of relevance within the AEC regional sector.