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| FCC restores the Fort of Graça UNESCO Site in Portugal  FCC, the Spanish infrastructure, environmental services and water group, has finished an 11 month, 6.1 million euros restoration process on the Fort of Graça. The UNESCO site is located in the Portuguese town of Elvas, Portoalegre district of Portugal, around 195 kilometres from Lisbon and less than 20 kilometres from Badajoz.The fort, also known as Conde de Lippe, was classified as a National Monument and World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012. This architectural complex with military origins was restored by Ramahlo Rosa Cobetar, a Portuguese subsidiary of FCC Construcción. The project received 4.7 million euros in funding from the European Union, with the rest coming from the Câmara Municipal [city council]. It also provided employment to over 200 people. The President of the Republic of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, officially opened the restored fort on 30th November. Representing FCC Construcción were Antonio Pérez Gil, manager of the Centre area and Portugal and Antonio Ribeiro Mendes, Portugal country director. The works aimed to recover and preserve the structures of the fort across 12 hectare site. The restoration mainly consisted of recovering the walls, cleaning up the paintings and repairing the damage from its abandonment. The cracks and chips were fixed on all the structures making up this bastion system. The ground and ditches were also tidied up. The explosives magazine and galleries were set up to receive visits and the paintings and messages left by the soldiers on the inner walls were also restored. The buildings on the site were equipped with electricity, water and Wi-Fi. Works were also carried out outside, including: clearing the surface of the glacis and laying concrete on the access road leading to the monument. Two car parks were also created. The original colours of the fort were restored. Due to the nature of these works, a team of architects took part in the project. All of the work was carried out using material identical to that used in the original construction. The military complex was adapted for cultural purposes and for visits by the public. A museum programme has also been produced which aims to recall memories from its historical past. The Fort of Graça is considered one of the most important forts in the world. It has not been used as a military building since 1980 and has remained abandoned since 1992. It has three lines of defence: the first is a structure with a polygonal design creating a star-shaped stronghold, the second consists of the fortified bastion and the third the central stronghold, an octagonal tower with high-vaulted ceilings which contains the Governor's House on the upper floors. Experience of FCC Construcción with restoration FCC Construcción has extensive experience in restoring historical buildings, examples of which are the General Archive of Simancas in Valladolid, the Palace of Fuensalida in Toledo, the Casón de Buen Retiro and the Museo del Prado in Madrid. write your comments about the article :: © 2015 Construction News :: home page |