Applications Open for Timber Faculty Workshop

Applications Open for Timber Faculty Workshop

UMass Building and Construction Technology Program and Boston architecture firm Leers Weinzapfel Associates are this summer hosting a workshop for architecture faculty that provides a thorough background on timber as a building material. See below for more information: TIMBER FACULTY WORKSHOP APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! Monday, June 26th - Wednesday, June 28th Apply Here Applications are due May 26th, 11:59pm eastern time.  Selected attendees will be notified by June 1st Venue: John W. Olver Design Building, University of Massachusetts Amherst Led by: Leers Weinzapfel Associates with support from Building and Construction Technology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst Venue Host: Department of Architecture and Building and Construction Technology Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst Led by Tom S. Chung FAIA, Principal Leers Weinzapfel Associates and Professor of Practice in Architecture at Auburn University and Dr. Peggi Clouston, Professor of Wood Mechanics and Timber Engineering, we welcome Tenure-track faculty at accredited Architecture schools throughout the US to apply for an intensive 3-day workshop geared towards equipping faculty interested in teaching Mass Timber design. Workshop will...
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In Memoriam: John W. Olver

In Memoriam: John W. Olver

The John W. Olver Design Building - BCT's home on the Amherst campus - is not just another campus building. The beauty and warmth of the timber structure, and its environmental footprint that treads lightly, represents a visionary approach to contemporary building design in that it integrally respects the responsibility we have towards the earth we live on. None of this would have been possible without the support and environmental consciousness of Congressman John Olver, who was the prime reason that the Olver Design Building was built with Mass Timber, the only naturally renewable building material. John attended a presentation by Peggi Clouston in 2014 about Mass Timber which led to several more meetings and ultimately a meeting of the minds where our technical background combined with John’s long term efforts to support forest health, sustainable construction, and rural economies. Our conversations ultimately led to the idea of creating a timber demonstration structure which would support the UMass Amherst climate action plan and...
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MoMA Panel Discussion on Mass Timber with Prof. Clouston Now Available

MoMA Panel Discussion on Mass Timber with Prof. Clouston Now Available

A presentation and panel discussion on "Material Worlds: Mass Timber" was organized by the Museum of Moden Art in New York on Dec 14, 2021 and included BCT Prof. Peggi Clouston. From the MoMA website: Wood construction is ancient, and surprisingly more relevant than ever before. The United Nations predicts that nearly one Manhattan worth of floor area will be built every two weeks globally over the next 40 years (GlobalABC, IEA, and UNEP 2018). Since the built environment is responsible for almost half of global carbon emissions, it is essential that we redesign what these cities are made of. Mass timber laminates small pieces of wood into scalable structural elements that have strength comparable to concrete and steel, enabling urban density, a key component in a low-carbon way of life. It has the potential to be more renewable and carbon-sequestering than any other structural material in existence. But questions remain. Who has access to healthy building materials like this? Are there enough...
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BCT Contributes to UMass’ 2020 Sustainability Ranking: ‘Top 20 Coolest Schools’

BCT Contributes to UMass’ 2020 Sustainability Ranking: ‘Top 20 Coolest Schools’

As announced in a recent press release, UMass has advanced significantly in Sierra Magazine’s ‘Top 20 Coolest Schools’ sustainability ranking, where we are now at #15. In their announcement, several BCT-related accomplishments were highlighted, such as our home in the Olver Design Building, our MS in Sustainable Building Systems, and Ben Weil's Clean Energy Corps course and extension work. Through our department, BCT is also part of the School of Earth and Sustainability at UMass, the first specialized sustainability school on the East Coast. You can read the full announcement below: Being Green: UMass Amherst Among Sierra Magazine’s ‘Top 20 Coolest Schools’ Record 300-plus colleges and universities participated in the annual sustainability ranking September 28, 2020 The University of Massachusetts Amherst was named among Sierra magazine’s “Top 20 Coolest Schools 2020,” a list of the greenest colleges and universities in North America. For its strong environmental ethos and wide-ranging sustainability efforts, UMass Amherst jumped to No. 15 on the 14th annual list from the Sierra Club’s...
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Olver Design Building and LWA Receive 2020 AIA COTE Top Ten Award

Olver Design Building and LWA Receive 2020 AIA COTE Top Ten Award

Boston, MA – May 21, 2020 – Conferred by the AIA Committee on the Environment, the COTE® Top Ten Awards is the industry’s best-known award program for sustainable design excellence. Each year, ten innovative projects are recognized for their integration of design excellence with environmental performance.*  Bringing together the previously dispersed departments of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Architecture, and Building and Construction Technology programs, the John W. Olver Design Building is a dynamic space of exchange, collaboration, and experiment, celebrating a shared commitment to sustainability. The first, and at the time, the largest, cross-laminated timber (CLT) academic structure in the US, the LEED Gold project demonstrates emerging technologies of mass timber as a renewable construction resource with economic and aesthetic advantages. The building’s integrated sustainability maximizes passive design impact, and engineering solutions minimize its operational energy use. Its timber structure reduces embodied energy, and the building envelope is highly-efficient, with mechanical equipment zoned for maximum efficacy. Radiant flooring and chilled beams also provide savings. Glazing and skylights maximize...
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