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

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

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...
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Welcome back students! And welcome to the Design Building!

Welcome back students! And welcome to the Design Building!

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
Welcome back to UMass to all our undergrad and grad students! In addition to starting a new spring semester, our major news this time around is that we moved! BCT is now located in the Design Building (shown above) where we are roommates with the Departments of Architecture, and Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Therefore, when you are starting the new semester, keep the following in mind: Most of our classes are now in the Design Building with DB 162 being our main classroom. Check Spire for room numbers and give yourself some time to find the new digs. The Design Building is located between Morrill and the Studio Arts Building. BCT faculty and the program director are on the third floor of the Design Building. Just remember: "All the way up the great stair and then to the left." That's where you will find us. BCT undergrads have a beautiful lounge area on the second floor overlooking the atrium (right next...
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Happy end of semester and Happy Holidays! Next up: Move to the Design Building

Happy end of semester and Happy Holidays! Next up: Move to the Design Building

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
On this last day of final exams, all that's left to say to all our students, colleagues, alumni, and friends is: Happy end of semester! And, of course: Happy Holidays!!! We at BCT are wishing you all a peaceful and joyous holiday season. Thanks to a lot of helping hands, during this end of semester we are also being packed up and getting readied for our move to the Design Building in early January. It's amazing how much we actually own and have to pack. Curious about our new digs? Without further ado - and thanks to Carl Fiocchi's photography - here are some pictures that mainly show BCT's new spaces (like the new classroom). Of course, there's much more to discover in the Design Building once it's ready and open. But for now, we hope you are - as are we - very excited and looking forward to our upcoming move. P.S.: In case you want to know our new address, it's: 210...
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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

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...
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Clouston featured in Suffolk Construction video about Design Building

Clouston featured in Suffolk Construction video about Design Building

by Alexander Schreyer Comment Closed
A new video and blog post on the Suffolk Building Smart Blog shows the construction of the new, engineered wood UMass Amherst Design Building. It features interviews with BCT's Dr. Peggi Clouston, as well as Tom Chung, Principal at Leers-Weinzapfel Associates and Robert Malczyk, Principal at Equilibrium Consulting. It also shows the construction site from various angles, including from above! https://videos.files.wordpress.com/qI2r6Jqm/umass-design-building3_dvd.mp4 Source: Suffolk blog post...
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