Hack your
thinking
Join the AEC Evolution
Bring your problems. Build together.
AEC Hackathon is an industry-first community where people working in the built environment come together to tackle the problems they actually face, experiment with technology and build solutions together.
You don't come to solve someone else's problem.
You bring your own.
AEC Hackathon was created by built-environment professionals who wanted a place to step outside the day-to-day, bring the problems they were actually facing and work with people from across the industry and technology community to explore what could be possible.
You can bring your own challenge, join someone else's, or explore one of the challenges brought by our supporters.
The community comes first.
Who is in the room?
AEC Hackathon remains an industry-first community. We are also deliberately creating space for the people who will shape the next generation of the built environment.
80% Industry Professionals
Architects, engineers, contractors, developers, owners, operators, technologists, researchers and other people actively working in the built environment.
Bring the problems. Bring the experience. Bring the context.
20% Emerging Professionals
Students, recent graduates, young professionals and people early in their careers who want to contribute, learn and build alongside experienced practitioners.
Bring new perspectives. Bring new skills. Bring curiosity.
One room. Mixed teams. Real problems.
How it works
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01
Bring a problem
Bring something you're actually struggling with in your work. It doesn't need to be a polished brief.
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02
Find your people
Meet people from across AEC, technology, design, research and the next generation of professionals.
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Build together
Form a multidisciplinary team and experiment with what technology can make possible.
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Demo what you discovered
Show what you built, what you learned and why it matters.
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Take it further
A hack can become a prototype, pilot, research project, startup, partnership, open-source project or simply a new way of thinking.
Our supporters don't just sponsor. They participate.
Support the community. Build with it.
Our supporters help make AEC Hackathon possible by bringing technology, expertise, resources and challenges into the room.
Some supporters bring problems they want to explore with the community. These challenges are opportunities, not assignments. If a challenge interests you, join it. If you have a problem of your own, bring it.
We encourage supporters to go one step further than traditional sponsorship: bring the people who understand the problem, join a team and build alongside the community.
The goal isn't to get the community to work for a company. The goal is to bring the right people together to discover what is possible.
Don't just sponsor the community. Build with it.
Sponsor Challenges
Supporters may bring specific challenges, technologies, datasets or areas of exploration to the hackathon. Participants are free to choose whether they want to work on them. You can:
- Bring your own problem.
- Join another team's problem.
- Explore a sponsor challenge.
- Start something completely new.
Bring your problem. Bring your people. Build with the community.
The strongest outcomes happen when the people who understand the problem are in the room with the people trying to solve it.
Sponsors are encouraged to bring domain experts, technology, data and decision-makers into the team rather than simply presenting a challenge and judging the results.
Meet our supporters →For the industry. By the industry.
AEC Hackathon brings together people who design, build, operate and transform the built environment with the technologists, designers and innovators exploring what technology can make possible.
The starting point is the problem.
Bring something from your real work. Find people with complementary skills. Experiment with technology. Build a prototype. Learn something. Then decide what happens next.
The weekend is not about producing a perfect product. It is about creating the conditions for people to discover what is possible together.
Created in 2013 by built-environment professionals passionate about thinking differently and hacking with technology to solve their own industry challenges, the AEC Hackathon has grown through over 60 events worldwide into the largest global community dedicated to open innovation for the built world. At our core, we are "for the industry, by the industry" and believe in a community-first approach.
A video from our community at BLOXHUB — a great overview of the magic.
A decade of building together
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Get started
If you are a built-environment or tech professional, property owner, expert, student, company, conglomerate, country, alien, robot AI, or other working to improve the built environment — we look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event. Welcome to a community of passionate people improving the industries we love.
Frequently asked questions
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What is a hackathon?
Hackathons have long been staple events in the technology industry since the late 1990s. A hackathon is an intense event that brings together computer programmers — software developers, graphic designers, UX specialists — alongside industry process experts and professionals to identify issues and create solutions, usually within a weekend.
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Who should attend?
AEC professionals — including facilities managers, GIS specialists, public utilities, policy makers, and everyone that deals with the built environment. Tech developers — we need tech ninjas, makers, game programmers, and rebels that code. UI/UX designers — we need people like you to make everything look beautiful, work intuitively, and create a stellar user experience. Emerging professionals — students, recent graduates and people early in their careers are welcome to build alongside experienced practitioners in mixed teams.
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Do I have to work on a sponsor challenge?
No. Bring your own problem, join another team's, explore a sponsor challenge, or start something completely new. Participants choose what they build.
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What do I bring?
This is a very hands-on and grassroots event. Bring your laptops, mobile phones, scanners, VR/AR HMDs, drones, wearable computing devices — whatever inspires you. But above all, your energy and your brain. Don't worry if you forget something; there will be tons of stuff to do.
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What is the goal of the hackathon?
To create an environment that embraces new ideas and technology solutions for the AEC industry. A place where technology designers and developers can come to help the industry, and a safe zone for AEC R&D teams to geek out without worrying about failure or affecting a company's bottom line. We know it takes longer than a weekend to build great solutions, but this is enough time to form teams of good people and start creating great things.
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How do I form or join a team, and why?
Teams usually form around problems expressed by participating AEC professionals or the provided hack categories. We encourage participants to start forming teams before the event — propose or join a team via our Slack workspace, our LinkedIn group, or at the Friday-evening mixer.
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Are there prizes for the hack categories?
Yes — we provide gift cards and software prizes thanks to our sponsors.
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Who owns my project & IP?
The team that develops the project owns the project and IP. We encourage sharing code with others in the community or making it open source, but it is not required to participate.
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How do I have an AEC Hackathon in my local area?
If you want to organize an AEC Hackathon in your area or have one at your existing event, contact us at info@hackaec.com and we will let you know how to make it happen.
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Is there reimbursement for travel?
No, we do not offer any reimbursement for travel expenses.
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Is there a hackathon code of conduct?
Yes — see it on the About page.
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How do I convince my employer to support my attendance?
Contact us at info@hackaec.com and we'll send you a letter from our founder explaining the benefits of participation.
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Does your logo have a meaning?
While it has evolved over the years, our logo represents that we are an open community to any fellow set of bones equally passionate about improving the built environment and its professions.
Media partners
Learn about the latest happenings in the industry from these media channels.
Partner events
Industry events organized by our partners.
