Project Management Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Building and Construction Technology

Hill International’s Billings and Goulet Provide a Construction Management Perspective on the Design Building

April 10, 2017March 12, 2018 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

As the Owner's Project Manager (OPM) on the UMass Design Building project, Hill International represented the UMass Building Authority (UMBA). David Billings and Marty Goulet were their on-site representatives who handled many questions relating to construction and risk management, constructability, and coordination. We were fortunate to get their perspective on the Design Building's journey from concept to reality in this talk. Links: Hill International Presentation...

New Trimble Technology Lab Gift to UMass Amherst Expands Training and Research for Building Design and Fabrication

January 26, 2017March 12, 2018 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and AMHERST, Mass., – A significant in-kind gift from Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) will expand the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s leadership in training and research in 3D building design, digital fabrication and the sustainable built environment. Partnering with Trimble allows UMass Amherst to more fully integrate across its curricula the technological tools that are rapidly transforming how building and living environments are designed and constructed. The gift will establish the 1,300-square-foot Trimble Technology Lab in the new Design Building at UMass Amherst. The lab will include equipment such as Trimble’s laser scanners, advanced robotic surveying systems, imaging rovers, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers and many of Trimble’s software packages including RealWorks® scanning software, Trimble Business Center, Vico Office Suite, GCEstimator™ Suite, Tekla® Structures, Sefaira Architecture and its popular 3D modeling software SketchUp Pro. Potential applications of these technologies range from the scanning of historic buildings to ensure their preservation, design and 3D printing of architectural building models, digital fabrication of...

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

May 5, 2016March 12, 2018 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

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...

BCT’s NAHB student group in the news with competition prep

January 13, 2016March 12, 2018 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

BCT's NAHB student group made the news yesterday on local TV-station WWLP with a report about their competition participation at the upcoming International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. As part of the Residential Construction Management Competition, they will get to practice the managerial and technical skills they developed while studying at UMass. (Source: http://wwlp.com/2016/01/12/umass-students-to-compete-in-national-building-competition/) We wish them all the best and good luck! If you would like to learn more about the NAHB student group, visit their page on our site or contact their BCT faculty advisor, Ben Weil....