Júlio Magalhães
José António Nunes (Zé Tó)
José Meira
CEO of Adopthouse
José Meira was born in Vila Nova de Famalicão. After technical and vocational training, he joined Tomás Veiga Construções, where he started as an apprentice, ending his time with the company as works coordinator. After another experience as a private entrepreneur, in 2008 he founded Adopthouse, a company specialising in renovation, rehabilitation and construction of buildings, apartments, houses and commercial spaces. In this interview, José Meira also tells us about real estate development, another of the company’s areas, and proves a critical voice against the absence of laws that lead to a lack of urban and architectural identity.
When did Adopthouse come into being and for what purpose?
Adopthouse came about in 2008. The market back then was essentially that of building from scratch, where rehabilitation was forgotten. Our focus was on the rehabilitation of buildings and vacant real estate, which was something that was expected to start picking up in the construction market.
What type of customer is looking for your services, private individuals or companies?
Both. Our customers are as much from the residential area as from the industry, even though the residential area is more important nowadays, not least because Adopthouse has also invested in real estate development. At the moment, we have a property portfolio of more than one hundred multifamily buildings and houses. For this reason, we are more focused on the residential area.
«Adopthouse stands out for the quality of its services, for its seriousness, professionalism and dedication»
The rehabilitation of buildings is one of your areas of activity. To what extent has regeneration in Portugal safeguarded the heritage value of buildings?
In this area there needs to be a more stringent intervention by the authorities, to impose rules! In multifamily buildings, owners go for cheaper solutions, which are often ‘prescribed’ without concern for the period or the materials of the building. Laws should be created requiring the maintenance of the building’s architecture and type of materials used. In this way, people would already respect them, because, to continue this way, the country will be increasingly without any urban and architectural identity, except in the major centres, such as Lisbon and Oporto, where some concern is shown.
What sets Adopthouse apart from other companies in the sector?
It stands out for the quality of its services, for its seriousness, professionalism and dedication.
What do you aspire to for the future of the company?
I aspire to continuing our solid and professional growth, as has been the case thus far.
