Washington Post Article on MassTimber Features the Olver Design Building and BCT’s Research

Washington Post Article on MassTimber Features the Olver Design Building and BCT’s Research

Today, the Washington Post published an article about the rise of MassTimber buildings (which are predominantly made using glulam and cross-laminated timber). The article featured exemplary projects throughout the country with the John W. Olver Design Building at UMass as a prominent example. BCT's research into Eastern Hemlock CLT is being described in the article through interviews with Prof. Peggi Clouston and Conrado Araujo, a BCT undergrad student who has been involved in this research for the past year. Forget the log cabin. Wood buildings are climbing skyward — with pluses for the planet – Washington Post (12/12/2019) Reposted from: https://bct.eco.umass.edu/news/washington-post-article-on-masstimber-features-the-olver-design-building-and-bcts-research/...
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Register Now for BCT’s Spring 2019 Continuing Education Courses at UMass’ Mount Ida Campus

Register Now for BCT’s Spring 2019 Continuing Education Courses at UMass’ Mount Ida Campus

Starting with the Spring Semester 2019, BCT will be offering courses at the new Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton, MA. For this first semester, we provide two courses that target continuing education students and professionals that are interested in furthering their education in sustainable construction and building technology. The following 3-credit, semester-long courses are available for registration now. Start date for the semester is January 22, 2019. Legal Aspects of Architecture, Engineering, and the Construction Process (BCT 597N) Legal issues arising from design and construction services, with a practical focus on risk management and liability awareness. Topical areas include basic legal doctrines, contract documents, contract administration, liens & bonds, claims, professional liability, human resources, legal evidence & recordkeeping, and dispute resolution. The course will also touch on the special legal challenges presented by technological, scientific, and cultural developments including sustainability, BIM/VDC, mass timber, automation, and climate change. Instructor: Steven J. O’Neill, Esq. High Performance Building: Issues and Perspectives (BCT 597Q) This course examines...
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UMass RCMC Team Takes 11th Place at International Builders Show

UMass RCMC Team Takes 11th Place at International Builders Show

BCT's National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) student chapter worked relentlessly through the 2017 Fall semester on their submission of the Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC) proposal. The 26-student team broke top 11 out of 35 schools in this national competition, after presenting their project at the International Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando, FL. Each year, the NAHB holds the RCMC competition, in which 2-year and 4-year college teams are given an open-ended problem statement that serves the basis of their proposal and presentation at the International Builders Show. This year’s problem statement offered a 7-lot site in Okemos, MI of which teams had to develop and assess the feasible profitability. The team decided to develop 151 houses and declared that the project would ultimately be profitable. The proposal included sections on market analysis, sales, project management, sustainability, design, finance, and estimating. The UMass team consisted of architecture, BCT, civil, real estate, and guest posts for marketing majors, and each student brought...
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Design Building at UMass Amherst Named for Former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver

Design Building at UMass Amherst Named for Former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver

As those walking through our building today may have noticed, there were some new letters visible on the facade. At a ceremony this afternoon, the Design Building was officially named in honor of a good friend of the BCT program and ECO department, former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver. It is now the "John W. Olver Design Building". BCT and ECO would like to congratulate U.S. Rep. Olver for this well-deserved honor. If it hadn't been for his support, our new home would not be the landmark, showcase example of sustainable mass timber construction it is today. Interested in learning more about the John W. Olver Design Building? We have an extensive collection of articles, photos, videos etc. here. Below is the official press release: October 27, 2017 AMHERST, Mass. – The new Design Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been named the John W. Olver Design Building in honor of the retired congressman and former UMass Amherst chemistry professor. A ceremony marking...
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UMass Amherst Students Build Timber Grid Shell as Pop-up Exhibition on Fine Arts Center Plaza

UMass Amherst Students Build Timber Grid Shell as Pop-up Exhibition on Fine Arts Center Plaza

After a lot of work, the timber gridshell on the Fine Arts Center plaza is now finally up and open to the public. This multidisciplinary design-build project, led by BCT faculty Peggi Clouston and supported by BCT adjunct faculty John Fabel (and many others), involved many students from across UMass. You can find more information in the official press release (below) and on the accompanying website: AMHERST, Mass. – A massive and intricate wooden dome temporarily adorning the plaza of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst was engineered and constructed by UMass students over two semesters as part of a wood design studio class. Known in technical circles as a timber grid shell, the structure is the end product  of a course taught by Peggi Clouston, associate professor in the building and construction technology program at the university. Thirty feet in diameter, the 3,500-pound shell rises to 11 feet at the center. The 52 longest laths in the...
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