Employee Talks with Luís Santos | Senior Civil Engineer

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Employee Talks with Luís Santos | Senior Civil Engineer
Reading time: 5 minutes
Published: 8th October 2021, 1:14pm
Updated: 24th January 2022, 6:27pm

Luís is a Civil Engineer and has extensive experience from Brazil, Angola, Malawi and Mozambique. Fluent in Portuguese and English, he joined our company to add value to our Project Development & Construction department as well as to our clients. His multicultural background allows him to work in multiple construction projects with high standards, managing and supervising works and finding smart solutions for complex problems.

When he’s not working, Luís loves travelling, practising various sports and getting to know new cultures.

Developments that Luís is currently leading
Developments that Luís is currently leading - Lusíadas 75 and Rosa II/121

How does your engineering experience help our clients purchase a solid investment safely?

My experience says that thoroughly managing each stage of the process is the key to a successful construction. The stages are the project design stage, contractors negotiation with whom we make the best deals, the city hall approvals with all the bureaucracy involved and finally the construction stage process all the way up to the handover.

Can you talk about a successful development you managed in the previous months?

We are managing several projects at the moment in parallel. The one I identify myself most with is Rosa in Bairro Alto - I’m talking about a very old building of the 15th century and renewing such an old building to a new one is quite challenging. However, we are running other projects which are in the contraction stage, like Lusíadas 75, Pátio do Jordão and others which will soon start - Rosa II- when we finalise the preparatory work. In the project design stage, we have Lagoa and Gil Vicente 4. There are more to come but I can’t mention any names yet.


Explore all Harland & Poston Developments here
Harland & Poston Owned Developments
Harland & Poston Owned Developments

If the project is not adhering to schedule, how do you get it back on track?

I should say that it’s hard to recover from delays in the construction stage, so my approach to that is to always avoid delays by planning very well all the steps.

How easy or hard is it to find buildings that fit our core investment business strategy?

I search for buildings in need of renovation. We focus mostly on the ones that have approved projects in the city hall in order to avoid very long approval processes. Once we have acquired these buildings we improve the projects in order to have the best final product.

What kind of partners do the Project Development and Construction team work with?

The most important partners and the ones I work on a daily basis with are the contractors that provide us with the skilled labour for the constructions. I must also say that the project designers also have an important role in the process in order to provide us with the best solution for the projects.

Do you think that the varied cultures and backgrounds we have at Portugal Homes are of value to your professional experience?

Yes, I was an ex-pat myself for 8 years. I worked in other countries with several cultures and when I returned to my home country I found the same environment at Portugal Homes so I’ve managed to adapt quite well to the teams here.

What is the most meaningful part of your job?

I’m a Civil Engineer - this is the life I chose many years ago and it’s the life I like very much. At Portugal Homes, I have the opportunity to pursue my passion in a very friendly and professional environment so we definitely have a nice combo.

Curiosities and facts about Luís:

  • Civil Engineering is Luís’ true passion.
  • He’s worked in Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Brazil which helped him enrich his know-how about construction.
  • He has built a whole city for a population of thousands of people back in Angola.
  • He’s built tourist villages, too!
  • Luís is a huge fan of sports.
  • He’s friendly by nature and always stops by for a good chat!

About Employee Talks

Employee Talks is a part of Portugal Homes - Harland & Poston Group’s marketing strategy. Our employees and their backgrounds are the company’s greatest asset, hence our belief in sharing the employees’ thoughts on working at this company shows our ability to differentiate, cultivate and promote our identity to not only candidates interested in working here, but also clients who are purchasing with us. We want our viewers to understand why we stand out from the crowd and think it’s a great opportunity for you to get to know us better.

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Thanks to Andreia Leite for the comprehensive and timely updates on the construction progress of the new development we purchased!

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