THE EDGAR CARDOSO HOMAGE (1913-2000)

In 2001 he will has completed 50 years as IST Cathedratic Professor.

That school had a decision to devote oneself a solemn session one year after he died.

    He is one of the most mediatic and loved Portuguese Engineer since ever by your job.

    He became eternal by various structures and special for bridges, some of then became ex-libris for some places or regions.

To the traditional analysis way of structures study, with very limitation in that time, Edgar Cardoso came to support the experimental analysis in little models of  structures to build, this thing allow him to achieve the best performances of the materials and building boldness structures.

    To this advantage, Edgar Cardoso, jointed the pleasure for new designs and high esthetic feel for “real structures”.

The book and exposition

    The IST Cathedratic Professor Antonio de Carvalho Quintela, Was guest by Civil Engineering and Architecture Department President of that institution to be a commissioner of Edgar Cardoso Homage, and he had as assistant commissioner the Professor Jorge Miguel Proença.

    The Homage, was achieved in fifty anniversary of Edgar Cardoso ownership capture as Cathedratic Professor of Bridges Will to aim, besides of solemn session of 2001 December 19, the realization of one exhibition and a book publication, both retrospective of the life and Edgar Cardoso work.

Excerpts         

    We next leave some extracted of “Edgar Cardoso 1913/2000” book, published by Edgar Cardoso Foundation and by Engineering and Architecture Department of IST and had as publisher the teachers Antonio de Carvalho Quintela and Jorge Miguel Proença.

Work, talent and boldness

     Edgar Cardoso branded the second half of XX century of Portuguese Engineering. The innovation and the research reconciled in to think and to build, branded a notable career of bridges and other structures designer and constructor.

The arcs spans – possible structures with big span in the masonry and reinforced concrete season – they branded a significant part of Edgar Cardoso  work: long spans and depressed arcs, on the prepared stone bridge of Abragão work and on the reinforced bridges of S.Fins and Foz do Sousa, multiple arc on the Barca de Alva bridge and span world record of Arrábida bridge.

He defends the reinforced concrete or reinforced concrete, continuous bridges, without dilatation joint.

All of them that he designed, the most important is the Mosteirô bridge that’s the beautiful continuous truss frame beam and the S.João railway bridge, a continuous structure with thousand metres of length.

He still made portico shape bridges, suspended bridges, over Zambese and save rivers in Mozambique, and trussed beam bridges, over Mondego river in Figueira da Foz, over Quanza river in Angola and over Limpopo river in Xai-Xai, in Macau.

The diversities of typologies on bridges concept branded one important part of Edgar Cardoso Work.

In the big span concrete arcs, as in Arrabida bridge, and in re-reinforced concrete porticos, as in S.João railway bridge, reached world records on that time.

Since trussed beam bridges, as the Figueira da Foz bridge, the first Portuguese trussed beams bridge, until suspended bridges without rigidity beam, stabilized by the suspend cable and the inclination of kingpost whole rigidity, as in Zambese bridge, Edgar Cardoso branded by the difference the structures Engineering evolution.

The Structures shape result of the structural working and typology reconciled with the esthetic and landscape integration of works, was characterizing a long designer career. The Macau- Taipa bridge is a challenge by the shape, by the provocation of convex superstructure.

The exceptionality of the big sizes is the expression of your last interventions, as the S.João bridge and the runway Funchal airport extension.

Experimental Analysis of structures

Edgar Cardoso was the pioneer in Portugal of experimental analysis of structures and of high precision instruments development for measure mechanical sizes in the little models and in yourself works.

The experimental analysis of structures allow to Edgar Cardoso go beyond the limitations of “analytic way” that result of simplified hypothesis, of discussed validity, then he was forced to admit.

With the ancestor of “experimental way” development result, Edgar Cardoso, allowed to make structures that detach by the slender and boldness.

The own intuition, that he enhance so much, had been progressively purified with old experience in the little models study and in structures observation.

Esthectic of the bridges

Edgar Cardoso defined with clarity the relationship between structural conception and esthetic quality : “ The technical perfection of a Engineering work has always reflection on your esthetic quality. The simplicity and the fair with was conceived control the emotion grade that wake who contemplate them.” The great diversity of solutions that he conceived represent the own character that he confer to each works: “ I never make two similar bridges. Each work is always a new solutions search”.

Message of Republic President for Ceremony of Homage Professor Edgar Cardoso

Edgar Cardoso was, in Portuguese XX century, one of the great Science and Technical Man. Your pupils, partners, the institutions and the companies that had with him the opportunity of collaborate and can appreciate your extraordinary capability  of experimental research, the development view and innovation that put always on your plans and buildings.

Was at public service with main devotion that he plan some of the our best Engineering work, searching boldness solutions that surpassed the regulations and the habits in force. They landscape and urban environment interventions always been expressed in results that only don’t classified but, in some of the cases, they make up a real ex-libris of the cities and landscapes.

Your work gave a big incentive for Civil Engineering progress and contribute for the Civil Engineering National Laboratory creation, your innovation grade is so great that oblige us to following progress at laboratory authorities and institutions level. The scientific progress that we duty him to made up a greatest service to Portugal that we couldn’t and shouldn’t forget.

Even in foreign, the Professor Edgar Cardoso work met, since early, great diffusion and recognition. It’s because I understand very well the rightness seasons and objectives that control this homage, intended to commemorate the 50 years of to name Professor Edgar Cardoso as bridges Cathedratic of IST. With it, we can understand better the range of your action as technical and teacher man.

On the country, where is important promote the development of technology and scientific culture, don’t be a lot of examples as Professor Edgar Cardoso, he always made your works and studies allying technical capability to  extraordinary inventive spirit, and searching create solutions that beyond the art state.

I want at Portugal name, render homage to qualities extraordinary that mode Professor Edgar Cardoso a single reference of scientific development in Portugal.

I also want underline the scientific culture importance for the progress and country development.

This illustrious person was born in Pinto Bessa Street, was, really, a bridges builder for the future, slogan that Porto 2001 society adopted. The Edgar Cardoso works to go on our service, your teaching and your example keep on all your present today.

THE COMMISSIONER INTERVENTION

Mr President of Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture spoke to me, in the July end last, invitation for Homage commissioner to Professor Edgar Cardoso, in IST, on that date, by the 50’s anniversary of keep capture of homage as Bridges Cathedratic Professor.

As the work and the person like Edgar Cardoso, I accepted promptly that invitation, with honour and pleasure. To count on with Professor Jorge Proença as adjunct commissioner, we put the best pawn on the attributed commission.

I should make register that the homage yet was delineated before by Scientific Council: solemn meeting, backward look exhibition and book about the homage work.

At the book we gave correspondence matter at be the most perdurable element of that homage and the fact to allowing, at time, select the themes and the exhibition contents.

We understood that book should be has a biography note – that gave a global view around the activity developed by Edgar Cardoso, in IST – chapters of scientific – technical nature, for characterize your actions as Researcher and Engineer, and even people statements that, along time, was next of Edgar Cardoso activity.

The book chapters are IST teachers authorship, without means accompaniment of works execution, developed by Engineers Antonio Franco and Abreu and Gonçalo Sanches of Gama, they, with Mr Aristides Fernandes, during was more time collaborators of Edgar Cardoso.

For book conception and development we count on appearance of Homage Scientific Council members: the Cathedratic Professor of IST Antonio Betamio de Almeida- Whose contribution for this homage transcended very much of Scientific Adviser – Antonio Reis, Julio Appleton and Fernando Branco, and whose Eng Carlos Ferraz, of Prof. Edgar Cardoso Company – Engineering, Structures Laboratory, Ltd.

Interest makes record for future that Edgar Cardoso work is the result of various qualities convergence he had at very high grade:

shining intelligence, excellent memory, pertinacity, intuition, practical sense, boldness creativity, innovation spirit, static sense, manual skill and capacity and work pleasure.

For finish I wish report of a emphatically way, but without loose rigour Edgar Cardoso- at conceive and detailing with perfectibility your structures, that approached of materials allowed limits and the techniques, and to manage your execution until the level of teach artisans to take a stonemason spoon or reel a steel cord – had something of greatest Cathedrals builders of the past.

Antonio de Cravalho Quintela

Chatedratic Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture Department of IST.  

Intervention excerpts of President of Civil Engineering and Architecture Department of IST

In December 21 of 1954, Eng Edgar Cardoso began, on public contest sequence, your Universitary career as IST Cathedratic, in bridges area. The time revealed that the young teacher was able to make very well in professional work what he will teach on School. He became a fundamental mark in constitution of many generations of Civil Engineers on this house.

(…) Edgar Cardoso was a creator for who a same structure don’t was a calculation result, but is a materialization of own intuition convinced or a physic feeling. We can said that your brain was a extension of own reality, that understanding and feeling of a strong way that, sometimes, he own showed a exuberant and irresistible pleasure when he found and several your capacity.   

(…) by your charisma, maybe he had been, maybe he was yet, the engineer most known of the public, perhaps as result of your combative and challenger character and by fact of the bridges had always busy a special place on collective imaginary. They win abysses and fears, making a respect and admiration feeling.

(…) The man and the circumstance passed, the country and our activity as Engineers could have changed well, but the Edgar Cardoso example as work discipline, to full dedication at profession, at trust on your own capacities, at strength with he accept the rise and responsibility, the desire of excellence, on what he made, maintain absolutely true and determinating for present generation.

Is thinking on the  future and bridges 2 of memory that us, leaders by the present, we should create, and in this solemn moment, I can said the Portuguese people desire when they see one Master bridge with your own name there.

I feel this, will be the most beautiful reward that the nation could give him.

The most that he appreciate.

 António Betâmio de Almeida

Chatedratic Professor od Civil Engineering and Architecture Department of IST

___________________________________________________________________________

FONTE.: Revista INGENIUM - Dezembro2001/Janeiro2002

______________________________________________________________________________________

Alexandre Carvalho, 4/07/2002