During the week of September 25 to 29, a group of Técnico students (Civil Engineering) built a beer crate bridge at Alameda Campus, in the North Garden, as part of the “Under Construction” event. The initiative, which was already held last year, is the result of collaboration between the Civil Engineering Student Organisation (Fórum Civil), the coordination of the Undergraduate Programme and the coordination of the Master’s Programme in Civil Engineering.
The project is part of the Masonry and Timber Structures (MTS) curricular unit taught by António Gago. The professor explains “masonry is basically a set of blocks. In this case, we’ve replaced the brick with beer crates”. The MSc student Vitória Freitas explains “each group of students designed a prototype, handed it to the professors [of the MTS curricular unit] and then the best one was chosen”.
Although it was inaugurated on September 25, the structure began to be built the week before. The work began on the 21st, with the foundation levelling, and continued the following day, during which around 20 students assembled the bridge. A sunset to celebrate this successful achievement took place at the end of the day. The beer crates were provided by Central de Cervejas e Bebidas, the same company that had also lent the material last year.
