
UMass Design Building: Elevating Mass Timber with Innovative Solutions
Completed in early 2017, the Design Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first of its kind in the U.S. At four stories and 87,500 sf, this mass timber project features a glued-laminated (glulam) timber column-and-beam frame, mass timber lateral force-resisting system, hybrid cross-laminated timber (CLT)/concrete floor system, and unconventional cantilevered forms. This presentation will highlight two aspects of the project: the design process will be discussed by the principal architect and the construction and occupancy phases will be reviewed by an associate professor who was close to the process and now works in the building. From code approval through occupancy, this session will address the process and collaboration required to see this groundbreaking structure to fruition in a steel-dominated construction industry.