Former president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and of the entity’s Administration Board, the civil engineer Walid Yazigi is known not only for his dedication in Brazilian foreign trade, but especially for his work in the field of civil construction.
As well as the proprietor of the construction company Construtora Yazigi, he is the author of the book A Técnica de Edificar (The Technique of Building), a bestseller amongst the books on engineering.
The seventh edition of the work, launched originally in 1998, was published recently by the publishing house Pini. It is one of the most sold books in the publisher’s catalogue, and is considered a reference by professionals and engineering students.
"I tried covering the whole area in the construction of buildings, but there isn’t another publication that extends as much," he says.
In fact, the book is about all the phases in a construction, from the topographical evaluation of the plot, going through foundations, structure, electrical hydraulic installations, finishing, etc., to procedures after delivering the property, like management and maintenance of the building.
In a clear manner, Yazigi explains how to do it. In the case of installing ceramic tiles, for example, he says which are the necessary materials and how to execute the services, as well as other information. "It is like a cake recipe," he remarked.
The book offers explanations for fundamental matters, like measuring units and the correct way of writing them. A real manual for the builder, the book teaches, for example, how to make the administrative control in a construction, including issues like receiving materials and calculating labor wages.
The publication also offers explanations on management systems for quality of services, including the ISO 9000 norms. Introducing these procedures in the constructions, according to the author, was one of the great modifications that happened in the last few years.
Yazigi is proud to know that his book is used by many professionals and students. "The other day I met with the Housing secretary of the city of São Paulo, Orlando de Almeida, and he told me: ‘I saw your book on my son’s desk, who is an engineer and works at Camargo Corrêa,’" he asserted.
The book is used in important schools, like the Civil Engineering and Architecture schools at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Mackenzie University.
Origin
The book originated in the notebooks at Construtora Yazigi, which are used to give guidance the construction services. "My daughters were graduating, I perfected the notebook and gave it to them," said Yazigi, who has two daughters who are engineers and another two graduated in business administration.
"And they told me that it was so clear and thorough that it could be published. I completed the book and published it," he added.
The first edition was sponsored by the Union of the Civil Construction Industry of the State of São Paulo (Sinduscon-SP) and the Votorantim group, of the businessman Antonio Ermírio de Morais. The Sinduscon, entity of which Yazigi was once the chairman of the Board, is still the co-publisher.
The author updates his work every year. "All year round I do the updates on my free time," he says while showing a copy of the sixth edition full of notes that were included on the seventh.
Yazigi graduated in civil engineering at the Polytechnic Engineering School at USP in 1958 and soon after that opened his company. "I went straight on to mixing cement," he said.
And talk about cement: since its foundation, the company built more than 500,000 square meters, having in their portfolio residential and office buildings, industrial constructions, clubs, hospitals and social housings. In the residential field, he has built more than 6,000 apartments.
Service:
A Técnica de Edificar
Author: Walid Yazigi
724 pages
Price: R$ 159,00 (about US$ 72)
Publishing house: Pini
Telephone: (55 11) 3352-6437
Website: www.piniweb.com
Anba – www.anba.com.br