John W. Olver Design Building, University of Massachusetts

This four-storey, 87,500 SF academic facility at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst has won a myriad of awards including AIA COTE Top Ten 2020, World Architects Building of the Year 2017, and WoodWorks Wood Design Awards – Jury’s Choice for Wood Innovation 2018. The building houses the school of integrated design program and includes offices, design studios, lecture theatres, laboratories and the required ancillary spaces.

In keeping with the school’s main purpose, the structure is largely exposed, and consists of 5 ply CLT-concrete composite floor panels supported by a glulam post and beam structure. The structure is designed to integrate services and incorporate acoustic and fire performance. The timber and steel “zipper truss” in the atrium is an architectural highlight.

At the time of completion, the building was one of the largest mass timber structures in the US, and one of the largest wood-concrete composite buildings in the world. The John W. Olver Design Building sets a new standard of quality and performance for institutional timber construction in the US and demonstrate how state-of-the-art timber construction can meet the demanding performance requirements of large post-secondary educational facilities.