Clouston working with Lamboo Inc. to advance structural use of laminated bamboo
Peggi Clouston is working together with Lamboo Inc. to determine key information to advance the design of laminated bamboo connections. Read more......
New Book by UMass Amherst’s Schreyer Expands Understanding of Architectural Computer-Aided Design Software
AMHERST, Mass. – Alexander C. Schreyer, assistant director and lecturer of the building and construction technology (BCT) program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and faculty member in the architecture + design program, has released a book on SketchUp, a popular three dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software, titled “Architectural Design with SketchUp.”
Published and released as paperback and e-book editions, the book is now available through online and local bookstores. SketchUp is a popular three dimensional computer-aided design (CAD) software owned by Trimble Navigation Ltd of Sunnyvale, Calif.
Schreyer has taught courses focusing on SketchUp and other 3D CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to students in the BCT and other programs since 2003. His courses include construction materials and methods, wood properties, advanced topics in “CAD and Tectonics 3,” the capstone structural course for the master’s of architecture program at UMass Amherst. He also has authored various plugins for SketchUp and is a regular beta-tester for this software.
“I realized that...
Ben Weil Releases Holdsworth Hall Retrofit and Renovation Report for Energy Efficiency
Proposed Holdsworth Hall Retrofit and Renovation would reduce energy usage by 63% and carbon dioxide emissions by 82%
The recommendations in this report are the product of a detailed and careful examination and exploration of the building and its operations. Begun as a project in a graduate course taught by Ben Weil, Extension Assistant Professor in Building Energy, the final report was further developed and refined by Weil, and two graduate students in Building Systems, Carl Fiocchi, and Katherine McCusker.
The key findings are: (1) very significant energy savings can be achieved at moderate cost, without affecting the basic architectural design, and (2) the building is a complex system, and no change can be considered in isolation. Single measures may achieve savings, but cannot maximize savings or performance without complementary changes in related systems.
A final package of recommended measures, reducing the energy consumptions of Holdsworth by 63%, will define a new building system with emergent properties that make for a qualitatively different and...