University of Massachusetts Amherst Grads Become MBMA Student Design Competition Award Winners

The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) has recently announced the winners of its second annual Student Design Competition, including two graduate students from UMass Amherst: Bobby Buttrick, who took home top prize, and Pranav Amin, who received first place in the graduate division. Both students were advised by Stephen Schreiber, professor and chair of the Department of Architecture in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.

The association granted $28,500 in awards to six winners and to their faculty sponsors in an online ceremony. For the top prize, Buttrick received $5,000, while Amin earned $4,000.

“We congratulate Bobby Buttrick and his advisor Stephen Schreiber on earning the top prize in the 2022 MBMA Student Design Competition,” says MBMA General Manager Tony Bouquot. “We had 48 entries from eight schools, including one from Guatemala. It’s exciting to see a variety of schools and students submitting such impressive entries, and we thank all of the faculty sponsors for their work as well.”

The competition took place during the 2022 fall semester, with entries due in early January. The contest for undergraduate and graduate architecture students challenged each participant to create an innovative metal building design for a fire station and department headquarters.

Founded in 1956, MBMA serves manufacturers and suppliers as it works to promote the metal building systems industry. For over 60 years, its membership has supplied high-quality buildings for use in commercial, retail, office, industrial, institutional and other end uses. The association provides a wealth of useful information on its website, MBMA.com, for anyone who works with or is interested in metal building systems. Resources include technical materials, research reports, videos and design guides. The MBMA blog provides the most current research and new ideas to propel the industry.