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

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

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...
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Awards Abound for NAHB Student Chapter in this Year’s Residential Construction Competition

Awards Abound for NAHB Student Chapter in this Year’s Residential Construction Competition

Our UMass NAHB student chapter just capped off the most successful year in its history. In this year's NAHB Student Competition, in which teams have to create a proposal for a housing development, the UMass team came in 8th place. This was the highest the chapter has ever placed. In the proposal, the UMass team had to create a site plan, construction schedules and estimates, a sales and marketing strategy along with a detailed financial analysis of the project. Additionally, the UMass chapter was awarded 2nd place for the Outstanding Student Chapter Award. The NAHB Outstanding Student Chapter Award recognizes NAHB student chapters at schools that go the extra mile to engage with their local HBA, the community, and student body of their schools. The strong relationship between HBRAWM and the UMass chapter was a major factor for this award. The members of this year’s team included Hunter Apteker, George Boccelli, Hayden Cantoni, David Ibrahim, Robson Stewart, and Winnie Wang (see also image...
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BCT Welcomes Students to UMass for Fall 2020!

BCT Welcomes Students to UMass for Fall 2020!

Welcome back to UMass to all our undergrad and grad students! And welcome to all incoming students of the class of 2024! Fall 2020 is certainly a semester like no other. While we are all protecting ourselves and our families and friends by observing social distancing rules due to COVID-19, our classes are now offered fully remote in an online format.  This is certainly a change from previous semesters, but our faculty are committed to providing an inspiring and engaging educational experience nonetheless. News As we start the new semester, there is some exciting news to share: We are welcoming Paul Wolff to our faculty! Paul is a lifelong educator and maker and has dedicated his professional career to environmental conservation, sustainable development, and experiential learning. He is located at the UMass Amherst Mount Ida campus in Newton, MA and will be teaching courses for our professional certificate and graduate programs (e.g. a graduate LEED course), as well as provide industry outreach for our...
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UMass RCMC Team Takes 11th Place at International Builders Show

UMass RCMC Team Takes 11th Place at International Builders Show

BCT's National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) student chapter worked relentlessly through the 2017 Fall semester on their submission of the Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC) proposal. The 26-student team broke top 11 out of 35 schools in this national competition, after presenting their project at the International Builders Show (IBS) in Orlando, FL. Each year, the NAHB holds the RCMC competition, in which 2-year and 4-year college teams are given an open-ended problem statement that serves the basis of their proposal and presentation at the International Builders Show. This year’s problem statement offered a 7-lot site in Okemos, MI of which teams had to develop and assess the feasible profitability. The team decided to develop 151 houses and declared that the project would ultimately be profitable. The proposal included sections on market analysis, sales, project management, sustainability, design, finance, and estimating. The UMass team consisted of architecture, BCT, civil, real estate, and marketing majors, and each student brought unique strengths to...
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BCT Program Wins 2015 USGBC West Branch “Green Giants” Award!

BCT Program Wins 2015 USGBC West Branch “Green Giants” Award!

The UMass Amherst Building and Construction Technology program was honored on December 1st, 2015 at a joint WMAIA/USGBC event at Hampshire College for our efforts in educating future leaders in green building and sustainability. Program director Alexander Schreyer and Associate Professor Peggi Clouston accepted the award on behalf of the BCT program. This is a biannual award and we are very proud to have received it this year. From the program description: The Green Giants program honors the work of trades people, educators, and owners/program directors who help build, teach about, envision and fund green buildings in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire counties. This program is intentionally distinct from other building awards in that it honors a wider range of participants in the sustainable building industry of our region. This is the second year of the West Branch Biannual Green Giants Awards program. This award reflects the amazing work of our faculty, adjunct faculty, and our student groups. They are all engaged on a daily...
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