Last Chance to Enter DOB's Sustainability and Building Code Innovation Challenges

Want to play a role in building New York City's future? Enter one or both of DOB's Innovation Challenges By August 21st. The Department of Buildings is still accepting submissions for the Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge and the Hack the Building Code challenge. The Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge seeks ideas on ways to increase energy efficiency among New York City's buildings to help make NYC carbon neutral by 2050. The Hack the Building Code competition is looking for ideas on how to improve and modernize the city's Building Code. All entries for both innovation competitions must be submitted online by Friday, August 21, 2020. The winners will be announced this Fall. See below for more details on each innovation challenge.

The Challenges

This year, the DOB, in partnership with the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Urban Tech Hub, launched two first-of-their-kind competitions: The "Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge," which gives entrants an opportunity to submit ideas on increasing energy efficiency and cutting emissions among NYC’s buildings and the "Hack the Building Code" Innovation Challenge, which allows entrants the opportunity to submit new ideas on best approaches to improve the city's 1.1 million buildings, keep construction workers and the public safe, and modernize the construction process. Winners of each challenge will have the tremendous opportunity to impact how we build a more sustainable and safe city. Here's what we're looking for:

The Carbon Neutrality Innovation Challenge is looking for ideas across the sustainability spectrum, including:

• Energy storage
• Distributed generation
• Buildings systems, management and operations
• Building materials and insulation
• Reducing "embodied carbon" that is stored or emitted during construction

Semifinalists will be asked to present their proposals during a DOB-sponsored conference in September. The competition winner will be considered for future opportunities like technical support and prioritized assistance with introducing their technology to NYC's design and construction industries. The winner will also be featured in upcoming DOB industry seminars and events highlighting the new frontier of building sustainability technology. For more information on this challenge, visit Make NYC Carbon Neutral.

The Hack the Building Code Innovation Challenge is seeking proposals on:

• Improving worker safety
• Identifying new regulations that would foster innovation or new technology, plus finding outdated regulations that are impeding innovation
• Minimizing the effects of construction (ex: noise, dust, vibrations)
• Creating innovative fire-resistant and construction techniques
• Designing new fire resistant materials
• Innovating façade inspections and repairs
• Developing adaptive architecture
• Facilitating design-build collaborations
• Creating new takes on business processes to improve customer experience and become more efficient
• Incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM), digitizing the workplace and other design innovations
• Developing safe work practices to continue preventing the spread of COVID-19

Semi-finalists will be asked to present their proposals during a DOB-sponsored conference in September. The winner of this innovation challenge will be supported for inclusion in the 2020 New York City Building Code, agency Buildings Bulletin, or industry best practices guidelines. The winner will also be featured in upcoming DOB industry seminars and events highlighting how NYC's Building Code keeps every New Yorker safe. For more information on how to enter, visit Help Hack the Building Code.

Melanie E. La Rocca Commissioner

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