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Respect. (from the lat. respectu) n. 1. respect; 2. consideration; high regard; 3. deference; compliance; veneration; 4. honour; worship; 5. relation; refererence...
We believe that everyone should be respected for their work, for their attitudes, opinions and options.
Rigor. (from the lat. rigore) n. 1. harshness; strength; 2.fig., severity; punctuality; accuracy.
There is no "more or less levelled", "more or less upright”, "more or less clean" or "more or less safe", but rather “levelled”, "upright”, "clean” and “safe". The rigour is reflected in our procedures, in time and in the rules to follow. In the light of moral and principles, being severe means being rigorous.
Passion. (from the lat. passione) n. 1. intense and usually violent feeling (affection, joy, hate, etc.) which hinders the exercise of impartial logic; 2. derived from a feeling; 3. great predilection; 4. partiality; 5. great grief; immense suffering...
Under the sign of passion – a text of the Portuguese poet Regina Guimarães – is our icon. Passion is to reveal great enthusiasm for something, favourable encouragement or opposite to something.
It is the sensibility transmitted by an architect or engineer through work.
Passion is the dedication to a project. Passion is a state of warm soul.
Loyalty. (from the lat. legalitate) n. the quality of being loyal; fidelity; sincerity.
Respect for the principles and rules that guide the honour and probity. Faithfulness to commitments and agreements undertaken, staunch character.
To remain loyal to the business partners because we depend on them and they depend on us.
Being trustworthy for being loyal.
Solidarity. (from the lat. solidare) n. 1. the quality of being solidary; 2. reciprocal responsibility among the members of a group, namely social, professional, etc.; 3. sense of sharing another’s suffering.
Being solidary is being a friend, offering our hand with genuine generosity and bringing joy and human warmth to those who, somehow, are marginalized. Being solidary is being more human. A solidary company is recognized as a fair and non-selfish company. A solidary company is a preferred choice in business. It is a more competitive company. Volunteering is a vehicle to solidarity. It is modern, fair, cultured, friend, it is a noble gesture of moral elevation.
Courage. (from the lat. coraticum) n. 1. bravery facing danger; intrepidity; to have audacity; 2. moral force before a suffering or setback; 3. [fig.] to input energy when performing a difficult task; perseverance...
Courage is essential in our life. Courage to face less pleasant situations when complex issues come up, not expecting random resolutions.
It is a value that we must highlight as opposed to the fearful, cowardly and laziness.
The courage to react to criticism not with an attitude of demotivation or sadness, but rather to search for the means and the action to overcome its own reason. This kind of courage, which is also an intellectual courage, is highly recommended.
Ambition. (from the lat. ambitione) n. 1. vehement desire of wealth, honours or glories; 2. expectation about the future; aspiration; 3. lust; greed…
Vehement desire to achieve a particular goal. Ambition not to resign ourselves. Ambition to take the best potential from ourselves. Ambition to deserve ourselves. Ambition to be athletes in our top-level competitive jobs. Ambition to beat our brands. Ambition to get the best deals with the maximum value, due to the high levels of proficiency and efficiency.
Esthetics. ESTHETICS (from the Greek aisthetiké, "sensitive") n.f. 1. Philosophy branch of philosophy that studies the beauty and nature of artistic phenomena; 2. author's own style, time, etc.; 3. harmony of shapes and colors, beauty; 4. set of techniques and treatments that aim to beautify the body.
We decided to build the company's economic foundations under a cultured, cosmopolitan and cool image. Because it is a charming state of being. Good taste because we are sustainable and we respect the planet. Good taste because we are sensitive. Good taste just because.
Responsibility. (from the lat respondere) n. the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct; a form of trustworthiness.
We must be certain that, before a choice, we chose what is best for both of us and not just the best for each one. Each employee is responsible for his negotiated activity and co-responsible if the co-worker does not fulfil his own task, thus preventing the common goal. A team is a set of individuals - is a whole. In the business game, as in social or family contexts, everyone must comply with their own relative position and we shall not permit that one of ours fails to be in our team.
Expresso
Brands such as Krear and Zethaus are trying to make a name for themselves in the modular construction market. According to the architects Luís Reis and Maria Luísa Barbosa, from Zethaus (DST group), “it is essential to guarantee rigorous planning, sound resource management and a scale of production to justify the investment”.
The Zethaus brand, created by the Braga group DST, and Krear, launched by the Casais group and Secil in May 2024, are developing projects linked to industrialised construction, based on modular construction and prefabrication concepts, considered one of the ways to accelerate resolving the housing problem in Portugal. However, these businesses need to operate at scale to be competitive.
While promising 20-30% reductions in construction timelines, final prices remain “equal to or even higher than traditional construction”, warned Hipólito Sousa, civil engineer and professor at the University of Porto’s Faculty of Engineering (FEUP).
Present at the workshop Building Materials Beyond 2030 – Next Generation MC Project, organised recently by the Building Materials Association, Hipólito Sousa stressed that prices in industrialised construction will only be able to fall when “there is a level of scale” and “factories build in larger quantities”.
However, for this to happen, a lot needs to change within the construction paradigm in Portugal, which is hampered by the “lack of definition of a strategy to enable the sector to invest in prefabrication and targeted industrialisation”, given the country’s peripheral location and size.
In other words, the central administration needs to set forth policies and strategies that make it possible to envisage and boost public and private demand “for at least a decade”. At the same time, he mentioned, “we need to change the rigidity of public procurement and control models”, which are, for example, hampering affordable housing tenders organised by local authorities.
Indeed, there are other aspects that also need to change, such as the “stigma among users about lightweight prefabricated solutions, perceived as having poorer performance and durability”, and it is essential to improve the image of the sector through better marketing campaigns. At the same time, it is necessary to “make the VAT regime clear and stable”, emphasised Hipólito Sousa.
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION
The DST group is promoting the Zethaus brand internationally. According to the architects Luís Reis and Maria Luísa Barbosa, Zethaus “does not aim to be just a construction system”, but “a future in which architecture transcends mere functionality”. What is more, they emphasise that for industrial construction to be profitable, “it is essential to ensure rigorous planning, sound resource management and a certain scale of production that justifies the investment”.
The brand is thus forging closer ties with architecture and promoting itself abroad. After attending a symposium at the Triennale Milano (7 November), it was also present at the Faculty of Architecture in Venice (19 November), as part of an initiative that brought together architects, artists, curators and thinkers to reconsider the way we build and inhabit our cities.
With the support of funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), DST is leading a consortium of companies that seeks to contribute to a paradigm shift in construction.
To this end, the group created the “Living Lab”, a laboratory dedicated to researching, developing and testing industrialisable, sustainable and inclusive construction solutions.
“We challenged the architect Norman Foster and the ARUP international engineering group to create a new industrial construction system that, in a world dominated by calculations, would allow us to extend quality to everyone,” explained the CEO of DST, José Teixeira.
This system combines 3D volumetric construction, in which modules are sent to the site fully finished, with 2D construction, which allows for flexibility and customisation. Structurally, this system uses steel, wood and concrete.
The Living Lab site is located on the DST group campus in Braga and is testing projects for senior and student residences, collective housing, hotels and health centres.
According to José Teixeira, “the student residence building is already on site, and the senior residence is nearing completion”. He added that “the three remaining buildings are being constructed in the factory and will be installed at their sites by the middle of next year”.