NYC DOB and Urban Tech Hub @ Company Ventures join forces to launch its second-annual Hack the Building Code Innovation Challenge seeking submissions from the real estate and construction industries, design professionals, and the general public on practical steps the city can take to improve the safety and sustainability of buildings, worker safety, and modernizing the construction process.
The New York City Department of Buildings is currently updating the City’s Building Code, which is one of the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive set of rules regarding construction in both new and existing buildings. Regulations adopted by New York City frequently inform model codes on the national and international levels.
New York City has nearly 1.1 million buildings – and counting. Let’s hear your ideas for making these structures safer for residents, workers, and visitors alike.
Best practices for complying with tenant protection regulations
Innovative technology that minimizes disruption of services in occupied buildings (heat, hot water, elevators)
Minimizing the impact of construction and building maintenance on tenants in residential buildings (noise, dust, vibrations)
Ideas to maintain safe and code-compliant egress from buildings during construction
Minimizing the effects of construction on other building occupants, the public, and neighboring properties
→ EARLY NOVEMBER
Semifinalists will be invited to present virtually to the Innovation Committee on November 9th or 10th.
Submissions will be judged on creativity, functionality, and potential impact on the safety and sustainability of buildings and construction in New York City. Topics of interest include materials, technologies, procedures, changes to codes, methods of construction, or other innovative ideas to advance the Department’s mission of safe and sustainable construction for all New Yorkers.
This competition will be led by DOB and its Code Innovation Committee, which includes public and private sector stakeholders and is chaired by the Department. Applications will be reviewed by DOB and the Committee and at a minimum, one winner will be selected in each category and invited to present their ideas at a DOB-sponsored virtual conference in November 2021.
*Read here for the full set of competition rules, the selection criteria, and more.
Company Venture's Urban Tech Hub is a one-of-a-kind space purpose-built to support and materially advance the prospects of entrepreneurs and companies seeking to address New York City’s most pressing urban challenges in sectors such as mobility, logistics, infrastructure, open data, and clean tech. Companies within the Hub benefit from newly-renovated office space at well-below-market rate, and have access to bespoke event programming and the Hub's corporate and government partnership network for piloting, product integration, and investment purposes.
