Civil Engineering students visit a building that is being rehabilitated

On Rua de Santa Maria, in the old part of Funchal, an 18th century building is being reborn, adapted to the demands of the 21st century. The building, which has already served as several addresses including the headquarters of the Dockworkers’ Union, will soon be created with a new function: that of a new local accommodation unit.

The facade of the property follows the adjacent buildings, but there is a tower that reaches five floors. In the future, little of the structure’s core will remain standing, apart from the facade and roof. The roof will receive more modern materials, but will maintain an appearance similar to the original, as required by law.

Today, a group of five students from the Civil Engineering course at the University of Madeira visited the site, where they heard explanations from the project director and Socicorreia specialist in the area of ​​urban rehabilitation, Francisco Jesus, which were complemented with information from the company production director, António Pereira.

The university students toured the various rooms of the old building and questioned the engineers about the solutions chosen to understand the ongoing transformation.

Some of the lime-coated partition walls are already stripped, leaving only the piles that maintain the structure, others have been torn down or will soon be torn down, to accommodate the new requirements that will allow the creation of 13 new apartments, type T0, T1 and T2.

While the building is not reinforced, Socicorreia maintains the safety of the structure using innovative removable metal retention structures (a modular solution that allows removal and reuse), which are attached to the walls, stabilizing the walls and allowing monitoring of any sags that may arise. in the structure.

The current staircase, located in the center of the building, will be demolished, with the connection between floors being made from an area to be created in the rear exterior, where today there is a small patio, which gives access to another exit to the street . There, an elevator and a new staircase will be installed, freeing up the central area of ​​the building for the new projected needs.