UMass DesignBuild (UMDB) brings together students from the UMass Department of Architecture, the UMass Building and Construction Technology Program, and the Five College Architectural Studies Program to design and build innovative, small-scale, affordable housing for under-served communities in Western Massachusetts.
Our mission is to provide transformational educational experiences that empower our students to become ethical leaders in their chosen professions.
As energy codes in Massachusetts continue to become more stringent, UMDB projects continue to improve on energy efficiency while also reducing embodied carbon through the incorporation of alternative sustainable materials including wood fiber insulation, locally-sourced wood products, and compressed straw-bale wall assemblies.
Timeline
Now in its fourth year, the UMDB program has expanded the cohort to include 16 students who are designing and building a home in collaboration with the Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity chapter on land donated by the Holyoke Housing Authority. This is the first time the students will get to work with the future residents – in this case homebuyers! – to design their new home.
In 2024, students were challenged to design a third small house for OneHolyoke CDC; a single family residence located in an urban infill site in the “Flats” neighborhood of Holyoke. The students’ proposal – named the “8th Sister“ in reference to Holyoke’s nearby Seven Sister Mountain Range – is a 600 square foot home that includes one bedroom and bathroom and an expanded open space for entry, kitchen, dining, and socializing. The 8th sister continues to explore the opportunities of small-scale housing building with low embodied carbon materials and an efficient design.
In 2023, UMDB continued to partner with OneHolyoke CDC and delivered an innovative, small-scale, single family residential affordable housing unit the “Paper House“. Checkout our interactive guide to the project as well as our informational video that includes a walk-through of the home.
In 2022, UMDB completed the construction of a 350 square foot, net-zero ready accessory dwelling unit (ADU). After being showcased at the Green River Music Festival, the “Hygge House“ was donated to OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation, a not-for-profit community housing provider in Holyoke, MA.
Latest Blog Posts
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- Nailed It!by Bianca Saliba De Assis Monday The second session of the build has officially begun! To get everyone familiar with the site and all the tools, we split into teams of two to build modules of the porch and deck. Nailing the joist hangers of the porch and deck so that the top of the… Read more: Nailed It!
- Truss the Process
by Ava Rhodes On Monday, we set out to begin the interior wall framing, starting with the staircase, then moving on to the bathroom, bedroom closet, and finally the kitchen and entry wall. While six of us tackled the framing, a few others went up onto the roof to install Advantech ceiling planks. We did… Read more: Truss the Process - CNS Advisory Board visits the site
by Natalia Smiarowski On Friday, the College of Natural Sciences Advisory Board came to the site and were able to ask questions about the project and speak to us about the UMass DesignBuild Program. We presented renders from the design stage of the project, showed our scale model of what the house will look like… Read more: CNS Advisory Board visits the site - SIGA Workshop
by Natalia Smiarowski On Thursday we spent half our day with Marc from SIGA. He was extremely helpful in his explanation on the different tapes and membranes we will be using to protect the house from the weather as well as air seal the living space. With Marc’s instruction we installed the Majvest 500 SA… Read more: SIGA Workshop - Wall Week!
by Marvelous Akande This week was all about the wall! Monday was Memorial Day, so the group did not meet up for the day. On Tuesday, we had our floor inspected. Our third-party inspector from PFS TECO came to examine our work from last week to make sure we had followed the stamped plans and… Read more: Wall Week!