Register Now for BCT’s Spring 2019 Continuing Education Courses at UMass’ Mount Ida Campus

Register Now for BCT’s Spring 2019 Continuing Education Courses at UMass’ Mount Ida Campus

Starting with the Spring Semester 2019, BCT will be offering courses at the new Mount Ida Campus of UMass Amherst in Newton, MA. For this first semester, we provide two courses that target continuing education students and professionals that are interested in furthering their education in sustainable construction and building technology. The following 3-credit, semester-long courses are available for registration now. Start date for the semester is January 22, 2019. Legal Aspects of Architecture, Engineering, and the Construction Process (BCT 597N) Legal issues arising from design and construction services, with a practical focus on risk management and liability awareness. Topical areas include basic legal doctrines, contract documents, contract administration, liens & bonds, claims, professional liability, human resources, legal evidence & recordkeeping, and dispute resolution. The course will also touch on the special legal challenges presented by technological, scientific, and cultural developments including sustainability, BIM/VDC, mass timber, automation, and climate change. Instructor: Steven J. O’Neill, Esq. High Performance Building: Issues and Perspectives (BCT 597Q) This course examines...
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Zac Bloom of Competitive Energy Systems speaks on Energy Procurement Strategies

Zac Bloom of Competitive Energy Systems speaks on Energy Procurement Strategies

In the third talk of our fall lecture series, BCT alumnus Zac Bloom, spoke about Designing Energy Procurement Strategies. Zac, who is Director of Sustainability and Renewables at Competitive Energy Systems (CES), was intricately involved in many energy projects including the recently installed UMass 5 MW solar array. In his talk, he gave us a broad and eloquent overview of the many factors that influence energy purchasing and systems selection. Synopsis Mr. Bloom originally joined Competitive Energy Systems (CES) in 2012 as a Business Development and Account Manager and was soon promoted to Director of Sustainability & Renewables. Now CES's Vice President, Head of Renewables & Sustainability, Mr. Bloom primarily consults with universities and large commercial customers on energy procurement strategies, budgeting, sustainability, energy benchmarking and CES’s proprietary Utility Tracker. Prior to joining CES, at UMass Amherst, Mr. Bloom focused his studies on energy benchmarking and data visualizations for large data sets associated with building’s resource consumption profiles. https://youtu.be/UjClvszwKd8 Links Presentation slides Competitive Energy Systems UMass Solar Projects ...
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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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Design Building at UMass Amherst Named for Former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver

Design Building at UMass Amherst Named for Former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver

As those walking through our building today may have noticed, there were some new letters visible on the facade. At a ceremony this afternoon, the Design Building was officially named in honor of a good friend of the BCT program and ECO department, former U.S. Rep. John W. Olver. It is now the "John W. Olver Design Building". BCT and ECO would like to congratulate U.S. Rep. Olver for this well-deserved honor. If it hadn't been for his support, our new home would not be the landmark, showcase example of sustainable mass timber construction it is today. Interested in learning more about the John W. Olver Design Building? We have an extensive collection of articles, photos, videos etc. here. Below is the official press release: October 27, 2017 AMHERST, Mass. – The new Design Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been named the John W. Olver Design Building in honor of the retired congressman and former UMass Amherst chemistry professor. A ceremony marking...
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UMass’ sustainable Design Building featured in new video

UMass’ sustainable Design Building featured in new video

UMass just released a video that showcases BCT's new home, the beautiful and sustainable Design Building. This building showcases many advanced and green building technologies, including an industry-leading contemporary wood structure. You can learn more about the Design Building on our site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IJ8OyMpEcE...
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