DIMSCALE releases ARCH INNOVATION, a project to promote the Portuguese products in the areas of Architecture, Design and Construction

DIMSCALE just released the project ARCH INNOVATION, which promotes a platform for the dissemination and exportation of Portuguese products and solutions in the areas of Architecture, Design and Construction. This project is establishing partnerships with a number of national companies in the industry of materials and constructive solutions, aiming to bring together an integrated offer of products that are complementary to each other. ARCH INNOVATION will focus on the markets of Middle East, United Kingdom and Switzerland, through a strategy of regular presence in the markets and exhibition in reference international tradeshows.

To bring the quality of Portuguese products to the Middle East | The project will focus initially on the market of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE are undergoing intensive development, particularly in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, markets with great receptivity to products that are differentiated by their quality and innovation.

Strategy of regular presence in the market | After identifying a business opportunity were carried out a series of trips to the UAE as a way to gather information about the present offer of products in the market, and also to establish the first contacts and gain an insight into the negotiation ways of the countries of this region. Starting from the gathered information was adopted a strategy based on direct contact and regular market presence, as well as on the participation as exhibitor at the major industry tradeshows.

An integrated range of products and solutions | Through the partnerships that are being established it will be possible to present integrated proposals to the final customer and to gather many types of products on a single supplier. Products and solutions that are integrating this offer are complementary to each other, being invited only one partner for each type of product.   

Project supported by the NSRF | ARCH INNOVATION is being promoted by DIMSCALE, thereby enhancing its experience in the construction industry and its relationships with national brands related with products and constructive solutions. It integrates the company's internationalization project, which is being supported by the NSRF, the Portuguese North Regional Operational Programme and the European Regional Development Fund.

United Arab Emirates

 

ARCH INNOVATION's website - CALL FOR IDEAS divulgation

CALL FOR IDEAS FOR ARCH INNOVATION'S EXHIBITION STAND

As a way to define ARCH INNOVATION as an open collaboration project since its inception, it was decided to release an ideas competition for the design of its exhibition stand, open to the entire community of Portuguese architects and designers. The winning work will be exhibited at international tradeshows in the business areas of Architecture and Real Estate, and its author will have a proper divulgation space within the stand and within all communication platforms of the project. The regulation and other information are also available on ARCH INNOVATION's website.

DIMSCALE in CCIP's seminar on how to export to Switzerland

CCIP (Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry) organised a seminar on how to invest and export in the market of Switzerland. Artur Sousa, DIMSCALE's CEO, participated on the seminar by sharing his experiences as a business traveller in Switzerland in 2011 and 2013.

The seminar was opened by the interventions of Pedro Madeira Rodrigues (CCIP's General Secretary) and by the Ambassador Lorenzo Von Wartensee (Swiss Ambassador in Portugal). Representing the Swiss Commerce Chamber in Portugal, Mr. Gregor Zemp presented a very interesting analysis of the economic and social context of the country from the investor and entrepreneur point of view.

The seminar ended with a roundtable that brought the experiences in this country of the Portuguese companies Grupolis Transitários and Data Recover Center.

DIMSCALE will be part of the Business Delegation to Switzerland (Zurich) organised by CCIP, that will take place in October. More information about this delegation here.

Pedro Madeira Rodrigues (CCIP)

Pedro Madeira Rodrigues (CCIP)

Ambassador Lorenzo Von Wartensee

Mr. Gregor Zemp (Swiss Commerce Chamber in Portugal)

Mr. Gregor Zemp (Swiss Commerce Chamber in Portugal)

Mr. Gregor Zemp (Swiss Commerce Chamber in Portugal)

Artur Sousa (DIMSCALE)

Artur Sousa (DIMSCALE)

Final roundtable

Macaco Resort and Sundy Beach - Information gathering on Principe island

Part of DIMSCALE's team was recently on the island of Principe (Sao Tome and Principe) regarding the projects Macaco Resort and Sundy Beach, two luxury resorts to be implemented on this site by HBD. This trip aimed to collect all relevant information and logistical constraints of both projects, in order to avoid scenarios of errors or omissions. Being DIMSCALE responsible for the cost management of these projects, this collection of data will allow that all the necessary works are taken into account, thus avoiding unanticipated costs.

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island - with HBD team

Principe island - with HBD team

Principe island - with HBD team

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island

Principe island - Santo Antonio (the world's smallest city)

Principe island - Santo Antonio (the world's smallest city)

Principe island - Santo Antonio (the world's smallest city)

Principe island - Santo Antonio (the world's smallest city)

Principe island - Sundy Beach future location

Principe island - Sundy Beach future location

Principe island - Sundy Beach future location

Principe island - Sundy Beach future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

Principe island - Macaco Resort's SPA future location

ARCHITECTURE COST MANAGEMENT - new contents on DIMSCALE website

Following the presentation of DIMSCALE's new consultancy service concept (a couple of months ago) we just added some new information to our website regarding ARCHITECTURE COST MANAGEMENT.

Throughout four brand new pages we tried to simplify the concept and present a set of easy-to-read texts which will certainly give a clearer idea of the scope and the benefits of this concept. Focused on optimising and controlling the costs of Architecture and Real Estate projects, ARCHITECTURE COST MANAGEMENT also seeks to safeguard the project's concept and final quality.

Besides the first page's introduction, the website presents also a more focused approach to each type of client/partner, giving detailed information of tailored services for Real Estate developers, Architecture offices and foreign investors that are looking for consultancy partners to develop projects in Portugal. 

Led by Mies van der Rohe's famous quote "Less is More" we explain why it is important to identify the most crucial aspects of each project and to optimise/reduce the spent resources, in order to accomplish what will really bring out the project as a successful one, regarding its cost execution, architectural concept, quality and functionality.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe marked the XX century with an architecture that carried a vision of simplicity and clarity into his projects. A conceptual optimisation that became an icon of modern architecture and, properly adjusted to each specific context, can easily be applied to other fields. One of the major difficulties verifiable when managing projects related to Architecture and Real Estate is precisely to distinguish the essential from the accessory and to know precisely how to identify the components that will better bring out the concept of each project and the valences that will better contribute to its functionality. The absence of this perception and a specialised approach to the cost often affects the sustainability of projects, which can make their implementation unfeasible or bring unplanned costs during the implementation phases.

ARCHITECTURE COST MANAGEMENT seeks to optimise the available resources of each project, managing the balance between cost and value. To do this optimisation it is to accomplish with the project's goals with the minimum of resources, allowing the project to be sustainable. That's why it is true, also in this context, that "less is more".

More at DIMSCALE's website.

DIMSCALE wins Cost Management contracts for two projects in Sao Tome and Principe

DIMSCALE integrated the work teams of two projects that aim to build two luxury resorts on the island of Principe, located in the archipelago of Sao Tome and Principe. The projects Macaco Resort and Sundy Beach, promoted by HBD (with headquarters in Lisbon), are now nearing completion of the respective architecture and engineering projects. The South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, founder of HBD, intends to concretize his vision of developing and boosting the local economy in Principe island through a major investment in various hotel units and other projects such as the expansion of the island airport, agricultural research and development, among others, following a policy of sustainable development and preserving the island’s beauty, biodiversity and natural wealth.

DIMSCALE is responsible for the Cost Management of these first two tourism projects, aiming with this work to optimize the invested capital, to control all costs throughout the execution stages and to safeguard the architectural concept and the projects’ final quality. DIMSCALE team was already part of the project management entourage that traveled to Sao Tome and Principe in the month of July with the objective of analyzing the site constraints. In this trip DIMSCALE carried out an exhaustive survey of the logistics conditions verified in the field, one of the factors with greater influence on the cost of projects with these characteristics.

In this particular phase, DIMSCALE is working on both projects through direct contact with HBD, design teams and the various engineering specialties, aiming to review and reconcile all the information and to perform the exhaustive quantification of the two projects, as well as the Procurement of the best suited constructive solutions, taking into account the stipulated objectives. 

Images: Sao Tome and Principe       Source: Facebook

TECHNICAL FILES: Project Management, Financial Project Management and Quantity Surveying

Our consultancy services are directed to Architecture offices and to Real Estate developers and investors. Safeguarding the project's final quality and the concept drawn by the designer, our goal is to reduce the capital invested on each project and to control all the costs involved, from the design phase to the project's conclusion.

Our three main services are connected between them, making up an integrated consultancy service that begins in the project's quantification and ends in its cost control during all its phases, passing through a consultancy process that takes into account several aspects such as the constructive solutions and the compatibilization between specialties.

Project Management and Financial Project Management

The Project Management applies to all phases of a project life (Conception / Planning, Realization and Utilization/Exploitation), and guarantees that goals are achieved at every stage of the project. The Financial Project Management, which is part of the Project Management applied to the reality of Construction, has as main objectives to ensure the project quality, the optimization of the available capital and the control of all costs stipulated. It represents an added-value for real estate investor in terms of capital savings and reducing the risk associated with budget overruns.


Quantity Surveying

Quantity Surveying is the basis of the work developed on Financial Project Management. The project is quantified and analyzed, aiming to identify inconsistencies and missing information. It is made to reconcile the written and drawn information from all specialties, and made the necessary adjustments in conjunction with the designer. Measurements are formalized through a set of documents that are delivered to the promoter, and which serve as a reference in the context of execution of work. The work on Quantity Surveying phase is reflected throughout the project development, having particular impact in its budgetary aspects.

DIMSCALE's rehabilitation process at the Pombaline zone of Lisbon is an example of a project that has being followed since its design phase. These consultancy services are applicable to projects with different dimensions - they are an added-value either to small and large scale projects.