Thank you for your interest in this event! 

Online registration has now closed. To register, please stop by the registration desk during the times below.

Thursday, June 20: 8 a.m. - 9 a.m., John Olver Design Building

Friday, June 21: 8 a.m. - 9 a.m., John Olver Design Building

We hope to welcome you to the 2019 Building Technology Educators’ Society Conference being held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst June 19-22, 2019. Click Register Now to register for the conference, including workshops and/or on-campus residence hall lodging. Note payment by credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex) is required to complete your registration. 


Conference Registration
We are offering tiered registration with, space permitting, on-site registration.

Early Bird Registration – Before April 15
     $300 BTES Members
     $350 Non-Members 

Regular Registration – Through May 15
     $350 BTES Members
     $400 Non-Members 

Late Registration – After May 15
     $450 BTES Members
     $500 Non-Members

The math is simple – consider joining BTES for two years ($50) and receive the Member rate. You will be prompted to join as part of the registration process.


Workshop Registration 
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Bensonwood, Trimble, and the Five College Consortium, we have reduced workshop prices to enable broad participation. Registration for the workshops is available at the time of conference registration. 

Bensonwood Facilities Tour (Wednesday noon – 6pm): $30
Includes lunch. First 33 registrants will fit in the van; other registrants are welcome but will need to provide their own transportation to Walpole, NH – about an hour drive. 

Technology in AEC Education: From 3D Modeling to Coding to Laser Scanning (Saturday 9:00am – noon): $30
Includes lunch. (38 seat capacity)

Living Buildings Tour (Saturday 1:00pm – 5:00pm): $30
Includes lunch. First 33 registrants will fit in the van; other registrants are welcome but will need to provide their own transportation to nearby campuses. Some buildings are accessible by bike, public transit or ridesharing. 

For questions related to the Conference Program and Submissions, please contact the conference organizers at btes2019@umass.edu.

For all questions related to Registration and Accommodations, please contact UMass Conference Services at registration@umass.edu or 413-577-8102.

Preliminary Schedule
The following is a draft schedule for planning purposes and is subject to change.

Wednesday, June 19 – Pre-Conference Workshop

  • Noon – 5:00 pm Bensonwood Factory Tour
  • The tour will travel to Walpole, New Hampshire, a one hour drive north of the conference venue.

Thursday, June 20 – Conference Day One 
Location: John W. Olver Design Building, UMass Amherst

  • Opening Plenary
  • Presentation by Peggi Clouston and Alex Schreyer: “From Innovation to Implementation: Emerging Bio-Based Building Technologies from UMass, Amherst”
  • Morning and Afternoon Paper Sessions
  • You pick session:
    • Campus Walking Tour – Brutalist Bonanza and more
    • Mentoring Opportunities
    • TAD Executive Editors: How to Prepare an Article for a Journal
    • Other Meetings
  • Yukon Kim Keynote followed by light refreshments and Poster/Project Exhibit Opening in the DB Gallery
  • Dine – Arounds in Amherst, Northampton

Friday, June 21 – Conference Day Two 
Location: John W. Olver Design Building, UMass Amherst

  • BTES Board Meeting
  • Morning and Afternoon Paper Sessions
  • Poster/Project Presentations
  • BTES Awards Presentations
  • Michelle Addington Keynote Presentation
  • Awards Dinner + Reception

Saturday, June 22  – Optional Workshops (additional cost)

  • 9:00 am – noon: Technology in AEC Education: From 3D Modeling to Coding to Laser Scanning + box lunch
  • 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Living Buildings Tour at Hampshire College

Primary Venue
The bulk of the conference’s educational events will be taking place in John W. Olver Design Building on the UMass Amherst Campus. The John W. Olver Design Building is located at 551 North Pleasant Street, Amherst MA 01003. Click here to take a look at a campus map (the Olver Design Building is in box D4).


Transportation Logistics

Amherst is located approximately forty five minutes from Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford and two hours from Logan International Airport in Boston. There is limited public transportation in the region and expensive cabs/ shuttles/Uber between the airport and campus. It will be strongly recommended that conference attendees arrange to share cars/shuttles.

Once at the conference, almost all conference events will be walkable. The only exceptions will be some optional workshops and dine-arounds. We will provide an online opportunity for attendees to rideshare for workshops, dine-arounds, and airport transportation. Uber is also an option in the area.

Link to Regional Transportation Options: https://www.umass.edu/transportation/regional-transportation


Commuter Parking

Attendees staying in the Campus Center Hotel or North Apartments will be provided with a parking pass. Attendees who are commuting to the conference should review campus parking options. The largest lots are available at the Robsham Memorial Visitor Center and the Campus Center Parking Garage.

The following accommodations are available on the UMass Amherst campus:

Hotel UMass
The Marcel Breuer-designed hotel is a 10 minutes walk from the Design Building. A limited number of rooms have been put on hold for the conference at $149/ night + fees (approximately $10). The hotel provides complimentary continental breakfast, afternoon refreshments, wireless internet, and one pass for the Campus Center Parking Garage per night. Check in is at 3:00pm on the arrival date. Checkout time is 11:00am. Pets are not allowed.

To reserve rooms at the Hotel, attendees should call the Hotel directly or reserve online and use the Group Code. Conferees should contact the hotel directly by May 22, 2019 to secure their reservation. Any rooms not reserved on or before May 22, 2019 will be released into general inventory and be available for sale to the general public. Conferees may continue to call in for a reservation after this date, however rooms and rates will not be guaranteed.


Dorm Accommodations
The North Residential Area is a 15 min walk from the Design Building. Rooms are available at $55/night per person. The North Residential Area contains “suite-like” air-conditioned apartments. Each apartment includes four single bedrooms with a desk and a dresser, two full bathrooms, and a shared living room/kitchen area. Each building also has a common area/lounge. Linens are available for $12.00 per – this service includes 2 sheets, pillow with case, blanket and 2 towels. Coin-operated laundry is located in the same or an adjacent building. Key and card deposits will be required. One complimentary parking pass for an outer surface lot will be available at check-in. Check-in is after 1:00pm on the arrival date. Check-out time is by 11:00am on the departure date.

To reserve, conferees should register online by June 5, 2019 to secure their reservation as part of the registration process. Reservations for the dorms will be available as part of registration.

June in Western Massachusetts is pretty spectacular. You’ll want to extend your stay to take advantage of the area!

Valley Bike: A regional bikeshare program is being installed in summer 2018 and should be available for conference attendees in summer 2019.

Biking: For longer distance riding,daily rentals with helmets are available in Amherst. There is an extensive network of bike trails and rail-trails in the region. The 100 mile Mass Central Rail-Trail runs through Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton with the Norwottuck section accessible from the UMass campus.

Hiking: UMass has easy access to many half day and full day hikes.

Museums: In addition to the excellent collections at UMass and the Five Colleges, there are significant institutions 60-75 minutes west.

The Berkshires are about an hour away:

And, late June is strawberry season:

For questions related to the Conference Program and Submissions, please contact the conference organizers at btes2019@umass.edu.

For all questions related to Registration and Accommodations, please contact UMass Conference Services at 413-577-8102 or registration@umass.edu.