QUAKE – An incredible journey back in time to 1755 that allows you to relive Lisbon’s most dramatic and transformative event – the 1755 Earthquake.

It’s worth discovering QUAKE, honoured as ‘Europe’s Best New Attraction’ and ‘Best Historical Experience’. According to the Lisbonquake website:

• A unique opportunity to be at the centre of the events that led to a major political, scientific and historical transformation worldwide.
• Learn all about the history of Lisbon and earthquakes through simulators, video-mapping and interactive and immersive technology.

The Museum’s building project, also worthy of distinction, was developed by Atelier FRAGMENTOS, which relied on PROJECTUAL for all the engineering specialities, resulting in a complex and virtuous outcome.

Read the article on the Earthquake Museum project here.

Read the SIC Notícias news about the museum here.

Watch the video about the Quake Museum here.

The Vila Galé Collection Tomar Hotel has already opened.

According to Vila Galé’s website, “Set next to the River Nabão and very close to the city centre, Vila Galé Collection Tomar is ideally located for exploring the main sights such as Tomar Castle or the Convent of Christ, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. It’s location is also ideal for exploring the Convent of São Francisco and the peculiar and unique Museum of Matches, the Sete Montes National Forest or the Jewish heritage of the former Jewish quarter and synagogue.

With 100 rooms, this hotel in Tomar, which has the Order of the Knights Templar as its theme, is made up of two historic and renovated buildings – the former Convent of Santa Iria and the former Nuno Alvares College (for women) – connected by a renovated walkway”.

In terms of engineering, it is worth highlighting the challenges and solutions found at a structural level according to the constraints, considering that the five structural bodies corresponded to three types of structural intervention: full rehabilitation of old masonry and stone structures, new construction with maintenance of the existing façades and entirely new construction.

In terms of the temporary peripheral containment solution for excavating the levels below ground, a ‘Munich’ type solution was developed, consisting of primary and secondary reinforced concrete panels of various thicknesses segmented by HEB metal profiles or micropiles on the outside of the curtain wall.

The special installations and facilities have the usual complexity of a hotel building of this quality, and for that purpose BIM/REVIT technology was used to develop the project.

Watch the promotional video for the Vila Galé Collection Tomar Hotel here.
 

Projectual marks 15 years since its first project using ‘Base Seismic Isolation’ technology.

The project for the new facilities of the Regional Veterinary Laboratory of the Azores, located in Vinha Brava – Terceira Island, was promoted by the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Forestry, Regional Directorate for Agrarian Development / Veterinary Services Directorate.

Projectual is proud to have worked as a team with the atelier João Lúcio Lopes Arquitectos and to have been responsible for developing the design of various areas, including the Unit structural projects.

The projects were carried out between 2008 and 2010, and the Unit was inaugurated in 2014.

The complex comprised a set of 6 bodies/buildings, including the High Biological Safety Laboratory Building (P3), which, due to its sensitivity and associated risk and according to the specifications, required the use of ‘Aseismic Base Isolation’ technology.

The base isolation system used HDRB (High Damping Rubber Bearings) type bearings, which are high-damping rubber bearings that significantly reduce the impact of seismic actions on this part of the structure. The low horizontal stiffness, high damping bearings were installed between the foundations and the building, which was then supported inside a reinforced concrete ‘box’, free to make large movements, forming a technical floor with independent access for maintenance purposes.

The connections between the Special Installations and the External Infrastructures have been equipped with mechanisms and arrangements that are compatible with movements of the support devices around 16 cm.