BCT Program Archives | Page 5 of 39 | Building and Construction Technology

Introducing: BCT’s New Summer “CityLab” Pre-College Program in Newton

February 28, 2022November 27, 2023 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

This summer, BCT is offering an exciting opportunity for high-schoolers in the Boston area to learn about buildings, cities, and the many technologies that are used to create and operate them as part of a two-week summer pre-college program. This program, housed at our beautiful Mount Ida campus in Newton, MA can be attended as a commuter, but a residential option is also available. See below for more information. CityLab The BCT (Building & Construction Technology) CityLab is a two-week immersive pre-college program for high school students interested in exploring building construction, sustainability, engineering, architecture, and technology-related career paths. The BCT CityLab course format includes a series of daily hands-on activities including construction site tours, use of emergent technologies (drones, infrared cameras, air quality testing, AR/VR), software (Fusion 360, SketchUp, Minecraft, AutoCAD), and fabrication tools (specialty 3D printers/lasers, hand/power tools, industrial sewing machines, CNC equipment). Students also conduct science lab experiments and participate in service-learning activities. The learning experience culminates with a design-build...

UMass Students Place 11th in National Competition and BCT Program Receives $100k Grant

February 25, 2022February 24, 2022 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

Students Participate in Residential Construction Competition As in years past, a group of UMass students traveled to the International Builders Show (IBS), a national conference, which was held this year in Orlando, FL. There they competed in the "Production Homes" category of the Residential Construction Management Competition, which allows our students to practice many aspects of their coursework, such as estimating and budgeting, scheduling and various other pre-construction topics. Under the faculty supervision of BCT's Dr. Ho-Sung Kim, this group had been busy preparing for this competition for the entirety of the fall semester. The UMass team landed the 11th place spot this year out of 27 competing schools. Its members were Akira Ontsuka, Matthew Klingman, Mohamid Zabir, Lauren Nothe, Oliver Pullin, and Samuel Khokhlan. See the gallery below for some impressions from the event. BCT Program Receives $100,000 Grant From NHE's HELP Program The Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP), launched in 2006, establishes closer relationships with institutions of higher education by awarding major...

BCT Students Start Construction on the “Hygge House” Design-Build Project

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

The Hygge House1 is a portable, 350 sq. ft, Net Zero, Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) designed and built by students in a collaborative effort between UMass Building & Construction Technology, UMass Architecture, Five College Architectural Studies, & East Branch Studio. The semester-long design-build course that encapsulates this project is led by L. Carl Fiocchi (BCT), Robert Williams (Architecture), Naomi Darling (Five Colleges) and Kent Hicks (East Branch Studio). It offers learning opportunities in high performance construction, construction practices, low load mechanical systems selection and installation, performance verification, and carbon accounting. The project as well as the course helps students understand the climate impacts of carbon in the built environment and explores ways to design and build better structures, as the inefficiency of buildings is responsible for approximately forty percent of global carbon emissions. After the Build is completed, students will have the opportunity for teaching about the building when the Hygge House is used as an Auxiliary Stage at the Green...

Creating a Bridge to the Future with BCT and Digital Ready

December 16, 2021November 27, 2023 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

On December 1, 2021 BCT faculty and students hosted Digital Ready (DR), a Boston-based non-profit that provides talented, young Black and Latinx students from Boston Public Schools a no-cost, head-start to a STEM degree from UMass. The DR cohort of 27 students participated in a unique peer-to-peer learning exchange program developed by CSN faculty Dr. Paul J. Wolff III and students in the new communication course required for all BCT majors (Communicating Building Science and Sustainability). The Immersion Event featured live presentations, hands-on demonstrations, building/lab tours and one-on-one time with current BCT students. The event began with ice-breaker activities and was followed by a series of presentations featuring coursework, extra-curricular activities, internships and a Q&A discussion about what it is like to live, learn and work at the UMass Amherst campus. The Immersion Event culminated with lunch at the award-winning UMass Dining Halls for all participants. The Digital Ready Cohort enjoyed live skits, informational giveaways and interactive presentations of student work such...

Student Team Places Third in ASC Region 1 Competition

December 7, 2021 by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed

BCT participated in the 2021 Annual Associated Schools of Construction Region 1 Student Competition in Albany, NY with three teams this November. Under Prof. Romero's mentoring and with several months of hard work behind them, Team "Amherst Construction" (shown in the image above) placed third in the pre-construction category. This was only the second year in which our students competed in this competition. We congratulate the team members for this superb effort! The team consisted of: Olivia Josias (Project Manager), Patrick Koenen (Superintendent), Emma Kelly (Senior Estimator), Jocey Krooks (Risk Manager), Eric Lee (Senior Scheduler), Michael Ayles (Safety & Quality Manager). Links: ASC Region 1 website Pictures from the competition ...