The Centre for Territory, Environment and Construction (CTAC) is a research unit of the School of Engineering of University of Minho (UMinho), recognised by the “FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia” (Foundation for Science and Technology), associated to the Department of Civil Engineering (DEC), with whom it shares resources and namely human resources.

Currently CTAC aggregates 37 researchers holding a PhD of which 27 are faculty professors of the Civil Engineering Department.

The general objective of the unit is to produce knowledge to support its vision of “Sustainable and Resilient Cities and Territories”, developing innovative materials and technologies and systems in the fields of built environment, systems and infrastructures for transport, water and wastewater and for territory development, contributing to climate-change-resilient buildings and infrastructures, supporting a steady improvement in the quality of life. To fulfil this objective, CTAC combines R&D activities with advanced training, technology transfer, consulting and services, aiming at fostering engineering and construction sectors and environmental entities to support the quality of cities and territories.

CTAC develops fundamental and, mainly, applied and experimental research focused on two interdisciplinary “main research areas of activity”: Sustainable Built Environment & Energy Efficiency; Sustainable and Resilient Systems and Infrastructures. CTAC researchers are integrated in five Research Areas of Competence, related with the civil engineering specialisations: Ecomaterials; Sustainable Construction Territorial Planning and Governance; Transport Systems and Infrastructures; Water Resources and Environment, supported by specific laboratories.

CTAC has a dynamic international cooperation through will partnerships covering the development of research projects by participating in international research networks, mainly in the fields of sustainable environment and cities as well as in international projects of knowledge transfer, as well as in the Doctoral Programme of Sustainable Built Environment led by CTAC.

The link between research and society constitute the driving force of intervention of the unit, where, in addition to the contribution for more sustainable built environment, cities and territories, people play the central role, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life.

CTAC is also involved in several masters and doctoral programmes, covering the main research fields of the unit, under the leading principle “to teach what is being investigated”, together with other units’ research, from UMinho and other universities.