Mass Timber Course Honored for Innovative Curriculum
Detail of a mass-timber roof structure at UMass Amherst, one of the exemplary buildings studied by Wentworth students in "Mass Timber and New England"
A Wentworth Institute of Technology graduate course focusing on mass timber has been named one of the best in North America by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Software Lumber Board.
The studio “Mass Timber and New England” examines the role of mass timber in relation to climate change, contemporary construction paradigms, and user wellbeing. Students are challenged to create their own mass-timber prototypes in a studio setting. Taught by Adjunct Professor Tom S. Chung, principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the nationally recognized Boston-based firm responsible for Wentworth's CEIS Building, "Mass Timber and New England" will be offered again in Fall 2022.
The ACSA jury selected five courses across North America for its 2022 Timber Education Prize, which recognizes “effective and innovative curricula.” In addition to Wentworth, student-faculty teams at University of Illinois, University of Oregon, Boston Architectural College, and Mississippi State University were honored.
Archinet notes that “selected courses will be taught in architecture schools across North America in the coming years and provide an excellent insight into the future of design education.”
Mass timber has become hugely popular in building due to its sustainable properties and ease of implementation at a construction site. Wentworth has offered various classes related to topic in the last several years.