- Room 302, Roland Levinsky Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA
- +44 1752 585237
- joao.alencastro@plymouth.ac.uk

Profiles
Dr Joao Alencastro
Lecturer in Built Environment
School of Art, Design and Architecture (Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business)
Biography
Biography
Dr João Alencastro is the Programme Lead and a lecturer and researcher in the Built Environment department of the School of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Plymouth . He is currently full time lecturer of the undergraduate programmes BSc Architectural Engineering, BSc Construction Project Management, BSC Quantity Surveying and BSc Building Surveying. Previously, he was a lecturer in the School of Architecture at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and in the School of Civil Engineering of UNIVALI (Brazil).
Originally trained as an Architect and Urban Planner, Mr. Alencastro has a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management and a Master Degree in Construction Project Management. He is an early career researcher, who obtained his PhD in the area of Construction and Quality Management. In the recent years his research is focused on project management, quality management and their relationship with the energy performance of buildings. In addition to his recent academic role, he has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry acting as design coordinator and project manager for design and contracting companies, as well as for manufacturers. He has published academic papers linking the areas of project management, quality management, energy performance and construction technology.
Dr Alencastro is an Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. He has an established track record of research-informed teaching, as well as authentic learning activities with the input of construction companies. He has experience in student pastoral tutoring and industry placement tutoring. He has also supervised many undergraduate research dissertations. Dr Alencastro is currently supervising PhD students.
Qualifications
2015-2019 Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom.
PhD in the Department of Architecture and Built Environment - School of Art, Design and Architecture.
PhD thesis title: “The impact of quality management on the thermal performance of social housing in the United Kingdom”.
2004-2006 Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil.
MSc. in Architectural Technology. Department of Design and Technology of the Built Environment. School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Master thesis title: “Diagnoses of design coordination practices in construction projects in the city of Florianopolis, Brazil”.
2002-2003 Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Post-Graduate diploma in Business Management. Business School.
Post-graduation thesis title: “Customer Relationship Management on transactions between construction companies and the steel industry”.
1993-1999 UniRitter Laureate International Universities, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
BArch. School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Professional practice
2013 – 2015 ANC Engenharia, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Project Manager. Project management (design and construction) of residential and commercial projects.
2012 - 2013 NBK/Hunter Douglas do Brasil Ltda, São Paulo, Brazil.
Project Manager. Project management (design and construction) of cladding systems.
2008 - 2011 Gail Ceramics, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Project Manager. Project management (design and construction) of cladding systems.
2007 – 2008 Mantovani e Rita Arquitetura Ltda, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Architect - Design coordinator. Developing, coordinating and integrating architectural and service designs.
2006 - 2007 Inovatec Consultores Associados Ltda, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Architect. Consulting and development of technical design of cladding systems. Technical supervision during construction phase.
2004 – 2006 Poersche Engenharia Ltda, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Construction Site Manager. Residential project.
2002 - 2007 Alencastro & Cartana Architects, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Architect. Development of architectural design for commercial and residential projects.
2000 - 2004 Grupo Gerdau Açominas S/A, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Architect. Development of technical design for industrial concrete floors and lattice slabs. Technical supervision during construction phase. Technical training for sales and construction teams.
1998 - 2000 TGD Arquitetura e Construção, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Architect. Development of architectural design for commercial and residential projects.
Professional membership
Chartered Architect with the Brazilian Council of Architects and Urban Planners(CAU) since 2000.
Registered Architect with the Brazilian Institute of Architects (IAB) since 1999.
CIOB member (student membership # 2024910).
CIBSE member (student membership # 053805 ).
Teaching
Teaching
Teaching interests
Teaching roles
Module lecturer, BLDG609 - Built Environment Project 3 (Year 3)
Module leader, BLDG506 - Contract Procedures (Year 2)
Module lecturer, BLDG612 - Dissertation project (Year 3)
Research
Research
Research interests
- Improvement of construction processes to enhance building energy efficiency
- Relationship between quality management and building energy performance
- Effects of design changes and value engineering on the energy performance of buildings
- Use of Offsite Manufacturing, digital techniques and robotics to improve productivity, H&S, quality and environmental performance on construction projects
Grants & contracts
2020.
Proposal: DeViz (Defect Visualisation via Thermography) - CI
Funder: CREDS (Flexible Fund: Early Career Researcher Call
Value: £200,000
Status: Successful
Publications
Publications
Key publications
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Alencastro, J., Fuertes, A. & De Wilde, P. 2023. Investigating the influence of quality management on building thermal performance. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. Final review accepted and waiting for publication.
Oladinrin, O., Mesthrige, J., Ojo, L., Alencastro, J., Rana, M. 2023. Smart Home Technologies to Facilitate Ageing-in-Place: Professionals Perception. Journal of Sustainability. Final review accepted and waiting for publication.
Goodhew, J., Fox, M., Alencastro, J., Goodhew, S. & Killip, G. 2021. Visualising Defects via Thermography (DeViz): A combined technological, behavioural and quality systems approach to achieving near zero defect buildings. European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, (ECEEE) Summer Study Proceedings, online, France.
Alencastro, J., Cartana, R., Silveira, W., Barth, F. 2006. Diagnoses of design coordination practices in construction projects in the city of Florianopolis/Brazil. Proceedings of the 11th National Conference of Construction Technology, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Cartana, R., Alencastro, J., Pereira, F. 2006. Opportunities and limitations of bioclimatology applied to architecture design in the city of Florianópolis/Brazil: A case study. Proceedings of the 11th National Conference of Construction Technology, Florianópolis, Brazil.
Alencastro, J., Vefago, L., Provenzano, T., Silveira, W., Barth, F. 2004. Wind loads in industrial plant roofs – case study: Catarina hurricane. Proceedings of the 2nd National Congress of Construction: Rethinking Construction, Porto, Portugal.
Vefago, L., Alencastro, J., Provenzano, T., Silveira, W., Barth, F. 2004. Rain water reuse in ventilated roofing. Proceedings of the 2nd National Congress of Construction: Rethinking Construction, Porto, Portugal.