Category Archives: Uncategorized

The New European Bauhaus conference (22-23 April 2021) was inaugurated by a speech by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. She outlined an ambitious plan of challenges and changes that await us in the forthcoming years. Her speech probably surprised most of the participants – they were not prepared for suchContinue reading “Materials for Future Buildings”

Looking back at 2020, one thing will naturally come up in most people’s mind. The pandemic’s reach is global and very much ongoing, with only a handful of countries now flirting with a“back to normal”. Beyond the ubiquitous health crisis, we are all familiar with the economic implications that it brought about as well (Portugal’s GDP dropped aContinue reading “PV’s Embodied Carbon”

When, in 1964, Bernard Rudofsky finally opened the exhibition Architecture without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he caused quite a stir. The catalogue started a new chapter in modern architecture based on photos and commentary of vernacular construction (that is, knowledge passed on from generation toContinue reading “Learning from vernacular”

If an engineer wants to model a building to solve problems in the energy realm, there is not a single, unique way to go about it. There are many methods to choose from to predict a building’s energetic performance. The most important aspect of this practice is typically thermal characterisation. Indoor well being and comfort depend,Continue reading “Buildings’ Thermal Behaviour: Black, White and Grey Boxes”

-If we start building only from wood we will cut down all the forests and nothing will be left? That’s why you have to build with concrete … or plastic. Such statements are often said by (unaware) professionals during meetings, lectures or workshops that I lead. They expose a big knowledge shortfall regarding materials’ environmentalContinue reading “Grey energy”

nZEB: nearly Zero Energy Building in the European Union is a vague concept defined by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU (EPBD). It requires all new buildings from 2021 to meet the nZEB thresholds and ranges and is currently being translated across European countries to local conditions in different ways. The EU is a collection ofContinue reading “On nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Portugal and Life Cycle Assessment”

Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM) is a crucial part of doing business. What started as a niche practice has developed into an everyday practice for leading organisations in virtually every industry, with proven capacity to capture value[1]. It is used for operational, structured decision-making as well as strategic, unstructured decision-making. But what is it, and how doesContinue reading “Why Simulate Buildings?”

Occupation schedules inform designers (architects and engineers) on the way of living and working of inhabitants. Such schedules are developed based on questionnaires and give a general idea of when a house is occupied, and, at the same time, for which period thermal or visual analysis should be performed. A detailed survey allows cutting energy expensesContinue reading “Pre- and post-pandemic occupancy schedules”

As we’ve mentioned in our first article, our services are adapted to the changing climate. Building regulations and techniques are still based on observed climate data, but at Dosta Tec we aim at being frontrunners looking into the future. Lisbon and Porto are the two centres of the largest metropolitan areas in Portugal, concentrating almost half ofContinue reading “Current and Future Climate in Lisbon and Porto”