Casais Group held the “Connect to Build – Affordable Housing and Industrialisation: Scaling Purposeful Solutions conference at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon. The event brought together various players in the sector to debate the housing challenges Portugal faces and the role of industrialisation in their response to meeting the need for housing.

One of the highlights of the conference was the signing of the “Well Live” protocol between the Casais Group and IKEA Portugal, underscoring both organisations’ commitment to developing joint solutions that promote affordable and sustainable housing through innovation and environmentally responsible practices in the sector.

The event featured two round table discussions that explored topics such as the urgent need for housing, modular construction, off-site construction, and digitalisation, with a focus on the sustainability, predictability, and quality of housing solutions. Participants included Patrícia Viana, partner at Abreu Advogados law firm, Cláudia Domingues, Communications Manager at IKEA Portugal, Álvaro Santos, founder and managing partner at Agenda Urbana, regional and urban planners, and Miguel Saraiva, CEO at Saraiva + Associados, an architectural firm.

The conference was also attended by Gonçalo Regalado, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Banco Português do Fomento, who highlighted the need for “Portuguese companies for Portuguese people with the capacity to invest in Portugal and abroad,” and by the Secretary of State for Housing, Patrícia Machado Santos, who in her closing speech said that it was importance to “be in direct contact with those on the ground, who are best acquainted with the issues involved, to which end we have been working hard in partnership with the entire sector,” thus reinforcing the country’s institutional commitment to affordable housing and innovation in the sector.

António Carlos Rodrigues, CEO of the Casais Group, said that “affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges of our time and requires a coordinated response between the various agents involved. We believe that the industrialisation of the construction sector is a decisive step toward ensuring greater predictability, efficiency, and sustainability, while making quality solutions available to more people. With this type of initiative, we seek to promote constructive debate and generate collaborative projects that contribute to accelerating the transformation of the sector.

Connect to Build is part of the Casais Group’s commitment to actively contributing to the public debate on housing and sustainability. By bringing together different voices and perspectives, the conference aims were not only to discuss solutions, but also to accelerate their implementation, reinforcing the importance of collaboration between the private sector, public sector, and civil society.